Growing up, there were few promising opportunities for young man of Legg’s stripe in Cajun country and things eventually got difficult and strange: chronic bouts of depression, habitual drug use, small town drama, and arrests soon became routine. During one gloomy episode - deflated, broke, and strung out - Legg climbed the Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge, determined to dive into the next life, but after a last minute change of heart, humbly climbed back down and vowed to find a better way to exist. He immediately drove himself to rehab in a stolen Camaro and rededicated himself to his creative pursuits, namely songwriting. He formed the southern tribal rock band, Santeria who had a 10-year run of chaos and bedeviled kookiness (1994-2004). After four albums, they disbanded in an anarchic heap of bad luck, poverty, exhaustion, and voodoo curses they suspected were cast on the band to hasten their demise.
Legg spent the next year living in low-rent motels and trailer parks, writing new songs that tapped into the haunting style of the Delta Blues greats. With an odd ease, the songs poured out, spitting new life into the genre, not by hackneyed imitation, but by infusing original Delta-slide songs with his own experience of growing up in the Deep South—young, white, alienated, and lost. Legg’s Robert Johnson-on-Thorazine-style slide work paired with his droning-rural psychedelia brought the backwoods sounds of Louisiana (hurricanes, cows, cicadas) to life while remaining firmly rooted in the troubled and death-obsessed masters. This batch of songs became the first Brother Dege release, the now critically-acclaimed Folk Songs of the American Longhair (2010) - a record that Quentin Tarantino later referred to as “almost like a greatest hits album” of new Delta blues.
Home-recorded in Alan Lomax-like austerity, the album delivered postmodern tales of desperate southerners, apocalyptic prophecies, midnight angels, hippie drifters, burning barns, and the endless ghosts that haunt the history the Deep South. Quietly self-released with no distribution, no representation, and absolutely no hype, Folk Song of the American Longhair quickly earned 4-star reviews (UNCUT) and gained the attention of numerous tastemakers in film and TV, scoring sync placements on Discovery Channel’s After the Catch, Nat Geo’s Hard Riders, women’s cycling documentary Half the Road, Netflix’s The Afflicted, and most notably hand-picked by Quentin Tarantino for inclusion in the movie and soundtrack to Django Unchained.
Brother Dege quickly expanded his cinematic vision of the South with two follow-up albums: How to Kill a Horse (2013) and Scorched Earth Policy (2015). Teaming with otherworldly slide guitars, country psych, barn burning anthems, the tradition continues with his latest release Farmer’s Almanac (2018), a sprawling, southern concept album that further explores the unique mysteries of small towns.
Brother Dege’s latest album is the critically acclaimed Farmer’s Almanac, an 11-track, southern gothic journey that explores escapism, class structure, and the opiated dark side of America’s small town rural communities. Brother Dege’s fourth album swarms with otherworldly slide guitars, rustic psychedelia, possessed barn burners, and swamp-drenched cinematic songcraft.
Crazy Motherfucker
Brother Dege Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Craziest fucker that you ever seen.
I'm crazy motherfucker, walking up your street.
Craziest fucker that you'll ever meet.
Yeah, I'm a crazy motherfucker, walking up your street.
Got a duct tape suit and some tater sack jeans.
I'm crazy motherfucker, walking up your street.
Koo-koo bugging eyes like some egg fried beans.
You got to give me back the pain.
You got me crawling on my knees.
You got me begging in the street.
You got to give me back the pain.
There comes a time when a man might lose his shit in his mind, then start acting a little crazy.
Maybe his daddy dropped him on the head as a baby.
Maybe a crazy woman left him and it turned his brain to gravy.
Yeah, I'm feeling a little crazy.
Like spitting on a toenail and chewing on a daisy.
You know, some of these motherfuckers will make you feel so crazy.
You got to give me back the pain.
Yeah, I'm a crazy motherfucker.
The lyrics to Brother Dege's song Crazy Motherfucker are a commentary on mental illness and the pain and struggles that come with it. The singer of the song is described as being the craziest motherfucker that you'll ever meet, with a duct tape suit, tater sack jeans, and bugging eyes like some egg fried beans. The lyrics suggest that the singer is in a great deal of pain, crawling on his knees and begging in the street. The song acknowledges that there are times when a man might lose his shit in his mind and start acting a little crazy, and that this can be due to a variety of reasons, such as a traumatic childhood, a break-up with a crazy woman, or simply feeling overwhelmed by life. The chorus of the song, which repeats the line "you got to give me back the pain," suggests that the singer is trying to release the pain that he feels inside.
The lyrics of Crazy Motherfucker are both haunting and poignant, and they speak to the struggles that many people face in dealing with mental illness. The song highlights the pain and isolation that can come with mental illness, and it encourages listeners to be empathetic and understanding towards those who might be struggling with their mental health. By bringing these issues to light, the song helps to break down the stigma surrounding mental illness, and it encourages people to seek the help and support that they need to cope with their own struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a crazy motherfucker, walking up your street.
I am an eccentric and peculiar individual that is currently strolling down the same street you reside on.
Craziest fucker that you ever seen.
I am the most insane and irrational person that you have ever laid eyes on.
I'm crazy motherfucker, walking up your street.
I am still that same peculiar and bizarre fellow making my way up your block.
Craziest fucker that you'll ever meet.
I promise that I am the most insane and peculiar person you will ever come across.
Yeah, I'm a crazy motherfucker, walking up your street.
In case you didn't catch it earlier, I am that same peculiar, insane gentleman making my way up your street.
Got a duct tape suit and some tater sack jeans.
I am wearing a suit made entirely from duct tape and my pants are fashioned from burlap sacks used for potatoes.
I'm crazy motherfucker, walking up your street.
Just a reminder, I am still that odd individual casually walking up your block.
Koo-koo bugging eyes like some egg fried beans.
My eyes are wild and bugged out, resembling a dish of fried eggs and beans.
Craziest fucker that you'll ever meet.
I urge you to take note, I am the most peculiar and unhinged person you will ever encounter.
You got to give me back the pain.
You must return the agony and discomfort that you have caused me.
You got me crawling on my knees.
You have reduced me to a position of subservience where I am forced to crawl.
You got me begging in the street.
Your actions have led to me begging for mercy and assistance while on the streets.
You got to give me back the pain.
I repeat, you must give me back the discomfort and pain that you have inflicted upon me.
There comes a time when a man might lose his shit in his mind, then start acting a little crazy.
On occasion, a gentleman may lose his composure and sanity, consequently displaying erratic and bizarre behavior.
Maybe his daddy dropped him on the head as a baby.
Perhaps the individual's father dropped him on his head as a child, leading to his unusual actions.
Maybe a crazy woman left him and it turned his brain to gravy.
A possibility is that a mentally unstable woman departed from his life, ultimately causing his thoughts to become chaotic and disorganized.
Yeah, I'm feeling a little crazy.
Right now, I am experiencing a bit of insanity.
Like spitting on a toenail and chewing on a daisy.
My current level of eccentricity is akin to the act of expectorating onto a toenail and masticating on a daisy.
You know, some of these motherfuckers will make you feel so crazy.
Do you know what drives a person to madness? Dealing with certain individuals that are peculiar and unhinged, to begin with.
You got to give me back the pain.
This time I am serious - you must give me back the stress and anguish you have caused me.
Yeah, I'm a crazy motherfucker.
Let us not forget that I am the same peculiar, bizarre person from earlier.
Contributed by Taylor B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@user-ct3wf3iv8h
AWESOME! I LOVE IT 0:47
@user-ct3wf3iv8h
AWESOME!
@KM-equality
I really enjoyed this. There is swagger. You obviously know how to flip jazz on its head. Pretty cool, man. Keep it up. 🙂
@tomgavelda6978
Love this band. Kinda just discovered them the last year or so.
Boy this is I'm in a bad mood - fed up with shit song. Catchy for sure
@maciejfranckiewicz
🔥🔥🔥
@digschopper9321
I feel its that dull feeling after shits gone crazy. Give me back the pain.
@jamesvanallen5152
This is one sexy ass song.
@digschopper9321
I never thought of it that way, but yeah.
@WonderfulPitbull-bh7wh
Hmmm