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12 December 2025

TURNER CODY shares mournful New Single Cigarettes Inside

The track offers a glimpse into his most elemental songwriting—a tender ballad of middle-age disappointment, regret, and camaraderie



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TURNER CODY


SHARES MOURNFUL NEW SINGLE "CIGARETTES INSIDE"

 

Second Single from Forthcoming Album 'Out For Blood' Coming 2025

 

"Cigarettes Inside" Out 8th December via Capitane Records

 

YouTube live session

video here

Spotify here

 

NEW YORK / ILLINOIS – American singer-songwriter Turner Cody unveils his new single "Cigarettes Inside", out 8th December via Capitane Records. The second single from his forthcoming album 'Out For Blood' (2025), the track offers a glimpse into his most elemental songwriting—a tender ballad of middle-age disappointment, regret, and camaraderie in the classic tradition of John Prine and Townes Van Zandt.

 

Featuring a simple acoustic arrangement with Clement Nourry's delicate guitar accompaniment and Ted Clark on electric bass, "Cigarettes Inside" tells the story of four musicians on the night of a gig in Nashville played to an empty room. Not originally intended for Out For Blood, the song caught the ear of producer Nicolas Michaux, who recognised its raw emotional power.

 

Turner Cody began his career in New York's Anti-Folk scene at the Sidewalk Café in 1998. Over two decades, he has released a rich body of work spanning lo-fi folk to rock and country-infused records, earning recognition for his lyrical depth and timeless songwriting. His music has appeared in films like Un Prophète and 'Un Prophète' and inspired the 2019 tribute album 'Songs of Turner Cody' featuring Adam Green, Jeffrey Lewis, and others.

 

"I wrote this song pretty much as the story happened," Cody explains. "It was the last show I played before the Covid Pandemic and may have been the worst attended show of my 20-year career. Anyone who's ever played Nashville knows that the Music City isn't always welcoming to outsiders and that night was no exception. All we had was each other. The only thing that saved the night was the Three Crow Bar, a Nashville dive that somehow, miraculously, allowed indoor smoking! So, we drank beer and smoked inside just like the old days. We talked about old times and had some good laughs and for that brief moment all was well with the world."

 

In the tradition of mournful ballads, "Cigarettes Inside" lays out certain hard truths about life's elusive mysteries. But it balances its sad tone with gentle humour and a suggestion that there is still joy to be found in all the heartache. The song showcases Turner Cody at his most elemental: finger-picking and singing alone in the studio—a song about every man who ever shed a tear for what could've been.


 

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"It's hard after twenty years of singing


To be singing still to empty rooms


When the golden days of youth are all behind you


And nothing but uncertainty looms...

But at Three Crow Bar we had a new beginning


Talking about things we mostly hide


We had nothing to show for twenty years of singing


But it was good smoking cigarettes inside."

 

Since 2018, Cody has collaborated closely with Belgian label Capitane Records and has been working with producer Nicolas Michaux on Out For Blood (2025). Now based in Illinois, Cody continues to craft songs that balance literary sophistication with an enduring gift for popular song traditions.

 

Following "We Need Each Other"—which explored interdependence and what makes us better people—"Cigarettes Inside" reveals another facet of Cody's humanistic songwriting: the beauty found in shared disappointment and the comfort of kindred spirits.

 

"Cigarettes Inside" is out 8th December 2025 via Capitane Records.

 

https://www.instagram.com/mister_turner_cody/




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