Blue Mountain is a band formed in 1991 in Oxford, Mississippi (USA) by husb… Read Full Bio ↴Blue Mountain is a band formed in 1991 in Oxford, Mississippi (USA) by husband and wife duo Cary Hudson (guitar and vocals) and Laurie Stirratt (bass and harmony vocals),who is notably the twin sister of John Stirratt, the bass player for the like-minded Americana band Wilco. After the dissolution of their former Los Angeles band, The Hilltops, the couple relocated to Oxford and, joined by drummer Matt Brennan, began gigging and recording roots rock. With this line-up, the band released their first self titled album on their own 4-Barrel Records in 1993. The band was signed by the independent Roadrunner Records label and released their second album, Dog Days, with new drummer Frank Coutch in 1995. The album was comprised of many songs from their first eponymous release and garnered the band a fair amount of critical and commercial success in alt-country circles, featuring the band's best-known song, "Blue Canoe." Two more albums followed on Roadrunner Records, Home Grown in 1997, and Tales of a Traveler in 1999. An album of all public-domain roots covers, simply titled Roots followed in 2001, before their final 'farewell' live release, Tonight It's Now or Never in 2002. Blue Mountain is widely revered for their high energy live shows, which showcase Hudson's talents on his favorite instrument, a classic Gibson Les Paul. Stirrat's bass lines and harmony vocals and Croutch's intense drum work round out this very gifted band. Blue Mountain is rightly considered one of the pioneering groups of the alt-country movement which took hold in the mid-1990s and is still going stong today. Their songs "Let's Go Running", "Big Black River", "Wink", and "Jimmy Carter" are bona fide classics of Americana music.
"Serving as a retrospective for a career defined by songwriting brilliance and emotionally charged live performances, Tonight It's Now Or Never was recorded live at Schubas Tavern on March 11, 2001 in Chicago - an evening which turned out, as the title says, to be the night of now or never. With Ted Gainey on drums, Laurie Stirratt on bass, and Cary Hudson on guitar, Blue Mountain treated their faithful fan base to a rollicking show of hard-driving classics. Fatigued by the relentless touring, Coutch had left the band to work on local music projects, and Stirratt and Hudson's marriage had ended. Although they struggled to stay together musically, the break-up was just too raw, and Blue Mountain disbanded. But relationships are like rivers; they rise and fall. During the past six years Stirratt played and recorded with Danny Black and Chicago-based Healthy White Baby, co-wrote and recorded a CD with her brother John and started an independent record label, Broadmoor Records. Hudson toured extensively and recorded 3 solo records and has been involved in many musical projects. After reuniting and playing a few experimental shows in Oxford, Chicago and St. Louis, it looks like Blue Mountain is back, tougher and better than ever, with a whole 'nuther era of that great Blue Mountain sound. The past is water under the bridge." Lisa Howorth
The Mississippi trio released its sixth studio album, "Midnight in Mississippi," along with a re-recorded greatest hits album, "Omnibus," in 2008.

Dead End Street
Blue Mountain Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Smiling and swaggering down a dead end street
Stoned-eyed and staggering
Just trying to stay on my feet
See my old connection
Shuffling over to shake my hand
Said pleased to see me back out on the street again

Here I go again

Right back where I been
Down a dead end street
Down a dead end street

Drank a toast to Jesus
He's like a long lost friend
As the lights are going dim
And the walls begin to spin
Feels like I'm sinking down
Drowning on dry land
I need some sweet angel
To come and take me by the hand

Here I go again
Right back where I been
Down a dead end street
Down a dead end street

Here I go again
Right back where I been

Down a dead end street
Down a dead end street

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Dead End Street" by Blue Mountain have a sense of defeat and desperation. The song describes the singer's walk down a path that seems to have no end. He is stumbling and trying to keep himself upright, but it seems as though he is unable to escape his current circumstances. He encounters an old connection, someone who he used to know, and there is irony in their meeting as they both find themselves on the same path again.

The singer drinks to Jesus, as if he is reaching out to a higher power. The lyrics convey a sense of hopelessness, as though despite the singer's efforts to escape, he finds himself right back where he started. The repeated line "Here I go again, right back where I've been" suggests that the cycle of this dead end street is punishing and inescapable. The final lines have a cry to a higher power, or someone who can save the singer from his desperation.

Overall, the song seems to speak of the cyclical nature of hardship and addiction. The cycle can feel endlessly repeating without hope for escape. The song is poignant in its honesty about the struggles of addiction, and the repetitiveness of the lyrics gives the sense of being trapped in the same patterns.

Line by Line Meaning

Smiling and swaggering down a dead end street
Walking confidently but foolishly towards a location where there is no way out

Stoned-eyed and staggering
Under the influence of drugs or alcohol and having difficulty walking straight

Just trying to stay on my feet
Struggling to maintain balance and avoid falling over

See my old connection
Encountering someone from their past who is associated with drug use

Shuffling over to shake my hand
Approaching unsteadily and extending their hand in greeting

Said pleased to see me back out on the street again
Expressing happiness to see someone return to the area where they were previously engaging in destructive behavior

Drank a toast to Jesus
Drinking to excess in a sarcastic nod to a higher power

He's like a long lost friend
Viewing religion as something distant but familiar

As the lights are going dim
Experiencing a loss of clarity and consciousness

And the walls begin to spin
Feeling dizzy and disoriented to the point where the surroundings seem to be moving

Feels like I'm sinking down
Experiencing a downward spiral, mentally or physically

Drowning on dry land
Struggling with something that should not be difficult to overcome

I need some sweet angel
Desperately seeking help from a benevolent figure

To come and take me by the hand
Wanting someone to guide them out of their predicament

Here I go again
Returning to a negative behavior or pattern

Right back where I been
Going back to a familiar but undesirable situation

Down a dead end street
Heading towards a location or situation with no viable options or escape routes

Down a dead end street
Repeating self-destructive behavior that leads to a hopeless situation