Steve Martin, Philadelphia Orchestra Roll Through Bluegrass Tune ‘Office Supplies’

Steve Martin teamed up with the Philadelphia Orchestra to put a symphonic spin on his bluegrass tune, “Office Supplies.”

Martin and the Philly Orchestra recorded the socially distanced performance for the HearNOW: At-Home Gala, which the orchestra hosted digitally over the weekend. The performance opened with Martin introducing the song, saying he’d reveal the reason he titled it “Office Supplies” after the performance.

The performance itself found Martin rolling away on his banjo, while the Philadelphia Orchestra beefed up the arrangement with strings, woodwinds and horns (one trombonist even started dosey doe-ing with his daughter). True to his word, at the end of the song, Martin cracked, “And now I’ll tell you why it’s called ‘Office Supplies,’ it’s because if, at the end of the song, you’re not thinking of office supplies, then I haven’t done my job.”

“Office Supplies” originally appeared on Martin’s 2017 record, The Long-Awaited Album, which he made with the North Carolina-based bluegrass band the Steep Canyon Rangers.