"Good Luck Kid (Knock on Wood)" is featured in season one, episode four of the HBO series The Anarchists (as the end credit track). It was written and performed by one of the series co-creators, Kim Kylland.

----ABOUT THE SONG----
Good Luck Kid (Knock on Wood) was inspired by Lily Forester, the flame-haired young woman who stars in our HBO series, THE ANARCHISTS. Lily fled to Mexico after being arrested for marijuana in Ohio -- a state that is still incarcerating non-violent offenders for cannabis-related charges. Facing a heavy prison sentence, Lily instead chose the unknown and drove south where she and her then partner planned to build a new life under pseudonyms in Acapulco, Mexico -- a place known equally for its tropical glamor and chaotic, cartel-run local government. 

Lily’s life had been shaped by the drug war from an early age, with memories of Saturday morning cartoons being interrupted by federal agents and swat teams raiding her home because of her mother's chronic use and sales of heroin. The lyrics of my song directly reference this sentiment: “everything I’ve ever had, if I had the chance I’d give it back, I want to write it for myself, stitch by stitch, word by word”. Lily was always clear in her resolve to do things differently than her mother, hoping to carve her own path, write her own story. 

After breaking her jaw roller skating on her 19th birthday, Lily chose to self medicate with marijuana concentrates instead of the prescribed opiates that plagued her mother's life. I began writing this song after an extended interview we did with Lily in which she chronicled her journey south. It’s written partially from her perspective (“Call me by my new name, underneath I’m still the same” being a lyrical nod to the pseudonym she took on while on the run), and partially from the perspective of a loving relative or friend (“Knock on Wood, don’t get stuck”) wishing her luck and safety, but perhaps fearing for her safety due to the life choices she’s made. 

Something Lily repeatedly said on camera always stuck with me: “I never came to Mexico to be safe. I came to Mexico to be free”. That idea of risking it all, leaving everything familiar in order to keep one’s freedom is a tale as old as time, and one that resonates deeply with many.

----LYRICS----
On the road, on the run, sleep outside under the sun,
Hiding from the law, hiding from myself, rear view is a mess.
Call me by my new name, underneath I’m still the same,
I don’t know what’s out there, anything’s better than what we left.
Even if it’s not safe, I would've gone insane.

Knock on wood, don’t get stuck, it’s just another way to say good luck,
Heading south into the mouth of the sun.
Bowl of diamonds, bowl of dust,
I thought I’d found the door to paradise, but it was just,
Another pair of handcuffs.

Everything I’ve ever had, if I had the chance I’d give it back,
I wanna write it for myself, stitch by stitch, word by word.
Will our dreams all come true, or will they just come apart?
Even if I’m in pain I wanna do it my way.

Knock on wood, don’t get stuck, it’s just another way to say good luck,
Heading south into the mouth of the sun.
Bowl of diamonds, bowl of dust,
I thought I’d found the door to paradise, but it was just,
Another pair of handcuffs.

---- CREDITS----
Written by Kim Kylland and Lila Oleszkiewicz. 
Produced by Brad Dollar and Todd Schramke.
Kim Kylland: lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, keys.
Lila Oleszkiewicz: backing vocals, keys.
Todd Schramke: bass, synths.
Brad Dollar: electric guitar.
Peter Labberton: drums.

© 2022 Kylland Music
kimkylland.com
@kyllandmusic on instagram + twitter + tiktok

Good Luck Kid (Knock on Wood)

"Turbulence" is featured in season one, episode six (season finale!) of the HBO series The Anarchists (as the end credit track). It was written and performed by one of the series co-creators, Kim Kylland.

----ABOUT THE SONG----
Turbulence was inspired by Lisa and Nathan Freeman, two main characters of our HBO series THE ANARCHISTS. After filming with them for half a decade, Lisa called us one night and dropped some excruciating news; Nathan was dying. He'd been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, and he was declining fast. 

I wrote part of this song while packing to fly to Mexico the next morning, and part of it in San Miguel de Allende, where Nathan’s wake was held a few days after his passing. The lyrics in the chorus and end refrain specifically are from Lisa’s point of view, a mantra of sorts to awaken oneself from the nightmare of losing your best friend (“tell me this is just, tell me this is just turbulence”). 

Strangely, I think this song ended up being somewhat autobiographical for me too. My father, who was also a charming, brilliant man and a life-long heavy drinker, succumbed to severe cirrhosis of the liver in 2013. It’s a loop I know all too well: trying to save someone, but not being able to break their bond to the bottle. Losing someone you love to addiction is a special kind of agony, and I felt the pain of Lisa and the Freeman’s three children so deeply during the period we spent with them just after Nathan's passing.  

Being left with only someone’s ghost, with a dimming light, with a refrain. Begging God to wake you up from the nightmare, asking to please let this rocky patch turn out to only be turbulence. It’s a story close to my heart, and perhaps why the song poured out of me so quickly. 

The final recording that you hear envelops you in the feeling of weightlessness, suspension, floating. Sonically I wanted it to capture that out of body experience one has immediately following the passing of a close, loved family member or friend.

----LYRICS----
The light outside, light outside, is growing dim.
I don't know, I don't know when we'll be back again.
Stranger in a strange land, I am lost now, without you.
I don't know, I don’t know what I am gonna do.
Oh, I’ll see ya later, Oh, this is not the end.
Oh, do me a favor; tell me this is just,
tell me this is just, tell me this is just...
Everything, everything, is tied to you.
I don't know, I don't know what I am gonna do.
Do you ever think, that everything you receive,
Is simply, you seeing yourself in the mirror?
Oh, don’t be a stranger, Oh, I know I’ll see you again,
Oh, do me a favor; tell me this is just,
tell me this is just, tell me this is just,
Tell me this is just turbulence, tell me this is just turbulence,
Tell me this is just turbulence, tell me this is just turbulence.

---- CREDITS----
Written by Kim Kylland and Lila Oleszkiewicz.
Produced by Brad Dollar.
Kim Kylland: lead vocals, keys.
Lila Oleszkiewicz: keys.
Todd Schramke: bass.
Corey Mike: violin.
Peter Labberton: drums.

© 2022 Kylland Music
kimkylland.com
@kyllandmusic on instagram + twitter + tiktok

Turbulence

'All Mixed Up' originally written and recorded by The Cars in 1979.
This cover recorded by KYLLAND at TRI studios in San Rafael, CA.

All Mixed Up (Cars cover)

Overflowing Heart (featuring Josiah Johnson)

Running Out

Bloom

Make Your Own Magic (featuring Josiah Johnson)

Go And Come Back

KYLLAND is the musical project of vocalist and songwriter Kim Kylland.

Kim is often joined by her bassist/producer husband Todd Schramke. Kim and Todd also co-own a production company called BIRD MURMUR. Their new HBO original documentary series THE ANARCHISTS is out now, and features two new songs from KYLLAND.

Kylland

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