SDSU Frosh Pens Swine Song

“Please don’t touch me
If you’re infected.
And if you’re not
Then I stand corrected.”

Finally, a pandemic you can dance to.

Local songwriter Ryan Erwin, 19, has joined the YouTube rash of Swine Flu Songs with his own version.

Erwin, a freshman at San Diego State University, wrote the song and recorded a music video inside his dorm room in all of two hours late Tuesday night.

“I was bored and said ‘Dude I should write a song about the swine flu!’ It’s the buzz right now why wouldn’t people like that?” he said.

A songwriter for more than 10 years, Erwin figured out the tune pretty quickly, “To hammer out a 1:20 song – a melody with some chords... it’s not a big deal.”

In 20 minutes, he had the lyrics including everything from Obama, Jamba Juice and canceled classes.

The Carlsbad teenager has a library of original songs available on his MySpace page including some produced inside an Los Angeles studio, which sound a little more polished than those he put together on his computer.

He’s turning 20 this summer and looking for his big break, or a place he can jam with a band of his own, “It’s tough to have band practice when you’re living in the dorms.”

Even he admits his Swine Flu Jam wasn’t totally an innocent, all-in-fun project. He asked about 100 of his closest social networking friends to donate their Facebook status updates to his link, hoping to get some attention for his song and his music career.

Even the Jamba Juice mention was in the hopes of some type of future corporate sponsorship. “It’s smart to appeal to a company or something,” he said.

Since he posted the clip Wednesday at 4 a.m., he said he’s been bombarded with YouTube comments and Facebook messages.

We applaud you Ryan Erwin! Not only for your ability to waste valuable sleep time on a project in your dorm (haven't we all?) but for taking initiative and trying to bring a little fun to the Great Pandemic of 2009.

Send this link to someone you know and tell them to do the same! Let's get this guy a record deal!

If you have any concerns about swine flu or would like more information, dial 211 for the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services hotline or you can also call 858-715-2250 for San Diego County's Swine Influence Information Line. 

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