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.
The Battle of New Orleans
Brother Dege Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coming as the storm arrives.
Katrina come to sink the city
Bust the levee a hundred wide.
Hold now,
Don’t break the levee down
Some come to save the city
Ruin and rage keep pouring down
The Angel of Death soon hear me now.
Hold now
Don’t break the levee down.
Who now will take
The Battle of New Orleans?
Climb toward the roofs and shelter
Raise your arms to the sky
Women, children, mothers, daughters
Fathers, sons - done left behind.
Hold now
Don’t break the levee down.
War between God and man.
Man and man with world no end.
Oh, man he chose to build a city
Of sinful mind.
God pulled it in.
Hold now.
Don’t break the levee down.
Who now will take?
The Battle of New Orleans.
The lyrics of Brother Dege's song The Battle of New Orleans depicts the tragic events that took place in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm had caused severe flooding in the city as the levees that protected it were breached. The song expresses the despair and helplessness of the people as they faced the impending danger of the hurricane.
The lyrics call upon the people to hold on and not let the levees break, as they were the only thing standing between them and complete devastation. The flooding brought destruction and chaos, with people climbing rooftops for shelter and seeking help. The song calls upon the angel of death to hear the cries of the people and help them in their fight against the storm.
The Battle of New Orleans is a haunting reminder of the destruction caused by one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history. The song speaks to the resilience of the people of New Orleans and their enduring spirit of hope that has allowed them to overcome the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Line by Line Meaning
Hold now, the water rising.
The water level is increasing and needs attention.
Coming as the storm arrives.
The storm is the cause of the flooding.
Katrina come to sink the city
Hurricane Katrina caused the floodwaters.
Bust the levee a hundred wide.
Katrina broke the levee with a huge gap.
Hold now,
Attention is needed.
Don’t break the levee down
Prevent the levee from getting destroyed.
Some come to save the city
Some people came to rescue the city from the flood.
Ruin and rage keep pouring down
The storm continues to cause destruction and chaos.
Flood born of blood and pity.
The flood was caused by a natural disaster and empathetic emotions.
The Angel of Death soon hear me now.
The artist fears death due to the dangerous situation.
Who now will take
The Battle of New Orleans?
Who will take responsibility for helping the city recover after the storm?
Climb toward the roofs and shelter
Raise your arms to the sky
People are being encouraged to seek refuge and pray for help.
Women, children, mothers, daughters
Fathers, sons - done left behind.
Families are separated and left struggling during the disaster.
War between God and man.
It can be interpreted as a religious belief that natural disasters are a punishment from God.
Man and man with world no end.
Humans may face conflicts with each other and with nature indefinitely.
Oh, man he chose to build a city
Of sinful mind.
The artist sees the city as a sinful place, built by humans who chose to disregard the natural environment.
God pulled it in.
The artist sees God's hand in the disaster, as an act of retribution.
Who now will take?
The Battle of New Orleans.
Repeating the question of who will take responsibility for helping the city recover.
Contributed by Liam A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@UltimatePowa
I've uploaded an album from Black Bone Child!
If you enjoyed Brother Dege, you'll most likely enjoy them as well. ;)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ZnHSngLyyNOq-HSkahbJoMmbxt0QIUu
@saintwesson6614
i realize I'm quite off topic but do anybody know a good place to watch newly released series online ?
@kelvinkelvin467
@Saint Wesson i use Flixzone. You can find it by googling =)
@raydencurtis249
@Saint Wesson I watch on FlixZone. Just search on google for it :)
@hhh-yi9jw
That's the best one. Thank you for the amazing music, and thanks to tarantino for letting us know such nice songs.
@thelatenightgamer2624
SAY MY NAME
@i5rrv5
Bro are you alive?
@cumminsrealpower680
This is the music that SHOULD BE ON "Into the Badlands"!!!! The tv show. This is completely amazing.
@darkstar303
Been listenin to Brother Dege for some time. When I listen to him my neighbors listen to him too.
@isaalhamadi2455
i love this songs very much!!!GOOD SONG'S!!!