Cy Winstanley's Quarantine Song

‘She Had The Dumplings (Covid Blues)’ is the new single release by Nashville-based New Zealand musician Cy Winstanley.

The ‘Dumplings EP’ (out is the first solo outing for the three-time New Zealand Music Award winner. Named for the title track, this three song collection is a vivid window into Winstanley’s world. While the songwriting takes a similar approach to Tattletale Saints, Cy’s band with long time collaborator and bassist Vanessa McGowan, it strays sonically from the folk and bluegrass milieu, moving into distinctly vibier sonic territory. 

Recorded at The Cabin Studio in Nashville with Grammy winning engineer Brandon Bell, Cy enlisted good friends Matty Alger on drums (Eminem, Albert Lee), Owen Biddle on bass (The Roots, Mr Barrington) and Ryan Connors on keys (Yola, Devon Gilfillian, Parker Millsap) to form a small, but righteously grooving ensemble. 

‘She Had the Dumplings (The Covid Blues)’ ruminates on sensations missed while stuck at home during quarantine. This fantasy night out begins at a Chinese restaurant, listing a variety of dishes and the feeling of fullness, before moving through the subway, to the club, to a music venue to witness the spirit moving power of a live band, only to be told that it was all but a dream. Venturing at times into the psych-folk realm, the song is an anthem for this out-of-body era we have been living through.

Growing up in New Zealand, Cy was first introduced to guitar at high school. Obsessive by nature, he dove in headlong practicing guitar 7+ hours a day, quickly resulting in stress injuries to his hands so severe that he was unable to pick up a pen. Forced to take a step back from technical guitar practice, his focus shifted to the craft of songwriting, a passion which stuck with him long after he recovered from his injuries. After school, Cy spent 7 years in London working primarily in the jazz scene and launching roots duo Tattletale Saints, before relocating to Nashville, TN to further pursue his love of original music. In Nashville, he has quickly become a sought after session and touring musician for artists such as Grammy-nominated Brandy Clark, Peter Bradley Adams, and Rachel Baiman.

Listen to ‘She Had the Dumplings (The Covid Blues)’ below. To hear more songs by Cy Winstanley, head over to the Songbroker Search Engine.