The band was formed in Nashville by co-leads Gary Bennett and Chuck Mead. Their music, referred to as alternative country or neotraditional, contains elements of western swing and rockabilly. They eschew modern Top 40 pop-country for a more raw, honky-tonk sound, with songs about 50s pin-up/dominatrix Bettie Page and The Ramones. They took their name from a telephone number regularly used in a Junior Samples sketch on the television show Hee Haw.
BR549 toured with Bob Dylan, the Mavericks, Junior Brown, the Black Crowes, and Brian Setzer. Whike on hiatus, multi-Instrumentalist Don Herron is touring with Bob Dylan, and lead vocalist Chuck Mead is performing with the honky-tonk country supergroup The Hillbilly All-Stars, along with Robert Reynolds and Paul Deakin of the Mavericks and solo recording artist/actor Mark Collie. Former co-lead vocalist, and co-founder, Gary Bennett released his solo debut, Human Condition, in February of 2006, and former bassist Geoff Firebaugh is a member of the Nashville based rockabilly outfit Hillbilly Casino. Despite shows in Europe in 2007 it's unclear if the band will return to its capacity as a full-time touring band.
The group disbanded, and Chuck, Shaw and Donnie returned to Lower Broadway to play weekly gigs with musical collective The Hillbilly All-Stars. The three were soon revitalized to again play music within an unpredictable scene, leading them to reform BR549 in 2004 with bassist Geoff Firebaugh and singer/guitarist Chris Scruggs for their Dualtone debut Tangled In The Pines. But following victorious tours of the U.S. and Europe (marred only by two separate thefts of their instruments and gear), BR549 was faced with their ultimate challenge when Donnie Herron was invited by Bob Dylan to become the new fiddle and steel guitar player in his band.
“It was a real test of our abilities as a family,” admits Mead. “Donnie went on the road with Dylan. Shaw moved to Arizona. I’d moved on to other projects. But for us, BR549 had always been something that needs to be respected and nothing we could ever take lightly.” Following months of heart-to-heart phone calls, plate-spinning scheduling and the addition of new bassist Mark Miller, the band finally convened in Athens to record in a way they never had before. “In the past, we’d always made a record coming off the road, with songs we’d been played for weeks and sometimes months on tour,” Chuck remembers “But this time, we were all coming in fresh, making the record then and there. It’s an album that’s truly in the moment.”
BR549 released six albums and two EPs, including three albums on Arista Nashville and two on Dualtone Records. The band's self-titled debut album produced three singles on the Billboard country charts in 1996. The band was nominated three times for the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Crazy Arms
BR5-49 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the storm's a brewing in this heart of mine
This ain't no crazy dream, I know that it's real
You're someone else's love, now you're not mine
Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new
For my yearning heart keeps saying you're not mine
My troubled mind knows soon to another you'll be wed
So please take the treasured dreams I had for you and me
And take all the love I thought was mine
Someday my crazy arms may hold somebody new
But now I'm so lonesome all the time
Crazy arms that reach
to hold somebody new, for my yearning heart keeps saying you're not mine, portrays a feeling of desperation when one is losing their loved one to another. The blue in the first line isn't a color, but rather a feeling of sadness and despair, which the singer conveys through the imagery of an oncoming storm in their heart. The singer acknowledges that they are not in a crazy dream, but rather living in the painful reality that their lover now belongs to someone else. The phrase "you're not mine" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the heart-wrenching reality of this situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Now, blue ain't the world for the way that I feel
I am feeling down and depressed and the world around me doesn't seem to match my mood.
And the storm's a brewing in this heart of mine
There is turmoil within me, and my emotions are brewing like a storm.
This ain't no crazy dream, I know that it's real
My feelings are not a figment of my imagination, but a reality.
You're someone else's love, now you're not mine
You are in love with someone else now, and I have lost you.
Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new
I'm desperately trying to hold onto someone new with my crazy arms.
For my yearning heart keeps saying you're not mine
Deep down I know that you're not mine anymore, and my heart aches for you.
My troubled mind knows soon to another you'll be wed
My mind is troubled because I know that soon you will be married to someone else.
And that's why I'm lonely all the time
I'm constantly feeling lonely because I can't have you.
So please take the treasured dreams I had for you and me
I want you to take the dreams I had for us and let them go.
And take all the love I thought was mine
I need you to take all the love I had for you because I can't hold onto it anymore.
Someday my crazy arms may hold somebody new
One day I may find someone new to hold onto with my crazy arms.
But now I'm so lonesome all the time
For now, I'm just incredibly lonely all the time.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Chuck Seals, Ralph Eugene Mooney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind