BR549 (originally spelled BR5-49) was an American country music band founde… Read Full Bio ↴BR549 (originally spelled BR5-49) was an American country music band founded in 1993 that last played live in 2013 and has been on hiatus since then.

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.

Honky Tonk Song
BR5-49 Lyrics

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I got me a room in a cheap hotel
My head was a spinning and I didn't feel well
I laid right down and I tried to go to sleep
But the band was playing in the joint underneath

I picked up my pillow when I covered up my head
But the band kept a playing and a shaking my bed

Honky tonk all night long, honky tonk same old song
Honky tonk my money's all gone, honky tonk she done me wrong
I turned and I tossed but I couldn't go to sleep
'Cause the band kept a playing with a honky tonk beat

Well, I'm so blue when my baby's gone
She took all my money and she left me all alone
I'm trying to forget her but I don't know what to do
'Cause the honky tonk song keeps a leaking through

I picked up my pillow when I covered up my head
But the band kept a playing and a shaking my bed

Honky tonk all night long, honky tonk same old song
Honky tonk my money's all gone, honky tonk she done me wrong

I turned and I tossed but I couldn't go to sleep
'Cause the band kept a playing with a honky tonk beat

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of BR5-49's song "Honky Tonk Song" vividly describe the experience of someone who is staying at a cheap hotel, and unable to fall asleep because of the incessant honky tonk music played by a band in the joint underneath. The singer of the song is feeling unwell and restless, but the upbeat and lively sounds of the music make it impossible for him to go to sleep. He tosses and turns in bed, eventually resorting to covering his head with a pillow, but the music continues to shake his bed and keep him awake.

As the song progresses, the singer reveals that he is feeling blue and lonely after his girlfriend took all his money and left him alone. He tries to forget about her and move on, but the honky tonk song he hears through the walls constantly reminds him of her. The lyrics are full of vivid imagery, which makes the listener feel like they are right there in the dingy hotel room with the singer, experiencing every detail of his misery and discomfort.

Line by Line Meaning

I got me a room in a cheap hotel
I rented a room in a low-cost hotel

My head was a spinning and I didn't feel well
I felt dizzy and unwell

I laid right down and I tried to go to sleep
I went to bed and attempted to fall asleep

But the band was playing in the joint underneath
However, there was a live band playing in the establishment beneath my room

I picked up my pillow when I covered up my head
I raised my pillow to my head

But the band kept a playing and a shaking my bed
Nevertheless, the band persisted in playing its music and causing my bed to shake

Honky tonk all night long, honky tonk same old song
The band played honky tonk music throughout the night, with the same tune repeating

Honky tonk my money's all gone, honky tonk she done me wrong
The honky tonk music depleted my financial resources, just as my partner betrayed and disappointed me

I turned and I tossed but I couldn't go to sleep
I kept on turning and tossing in my bed, struggling to fall asleep

'Cause the band kept a playing with a honky tonk beat
This was due to the persistent honky tonk beat played by the band

Well, I'm so blue when my baby's gone
I feel miserable and dejected when my sweetheart is away

She took all my money and she left me all alone
My partner absconded with all my money, abandoning me to my own devices

I'm trying to forget her but I don't know what to do
I'm attempting to erase her from my memory, but I'm perplexed as to what to do

'Cause the honky tonk song keeps a leaking through
Unfortunately, the honky tonk tune keeps infiltrating my thoughts and memories

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MEL TILLIS, BUCK PEDDY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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