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 World's Longest Hotdog
Brother Dege Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby, you just don't know
Burnt out in Free Town
Free Town is where I am from.
If you come down to Freak Town
Bring your hotdog buns.
No, I can't go on dragging along
The world's longest hotdog.
High as the day is tall
Deep as the sea, baby
Cruel as the day I's born
If you come down to meat me
Bring hotdog buns.
I can't go on dragging along
The world's longest hotdog.
The lyrics of Brother Dege's song "The World's Longest Hotdog" talk about the singer's struggle to move on from the past, as symbolized by the metaphorical "world's longest hotdog." The first two lines describe what seems to be a state of confusion and disorientation, represented by being "jacked up in Waco." The next line references "Free Town," which may be a reference to a particular location, but also serves as a metaphor for the singer's state of being. The line "if you come down to Freak Town, bring your hotdog buns" suggests that Freak Town may be a difficult or uncomfortable place to be, but also implies that there is something worth experiencing, represented by the hotdog.
The chorus repeats the idea that the singer cannot continue to carry the burden of the "world's longest hotdog," which seems to represent his past, his emotional baggage, or some other difficult aspect of his life. The imagery used to describe the hotdog is vivid and evocative- "Long as a slow train / High as the day is tall / Deep as the sea, baby / Cruel as the day I's born." These lines suggest the enormity and weight of the hotdog, and the final line relates it back to the singer's personal history. The final verse repeats the invitation to come "meat" the singer, again using the hotdog as a symbol, before concluding once again that he cannot continue with the weight of this burden.
Line by Line Meaning
Jacked up in Waco
I am in a difficult situation in Waco.
Baby, you just don't know
You do not understand the nature of my situation.
Burnt out in Free Town
I am exhausted in Free Town.
Free Town is where I am from.
Free Town is my hometown.
If you come down to Freak Town
If you visit Free Town.
Bring your hotdog buns.
Please bring hotdog buns.
No, I can't go on dragging along
I cannot continue to carry this burden.
The world's longest hotdog.
My burden is like a very long hotdog.
Long as a slow train
My burden is as long as a slow-moving train.
High as the day is tall
My burden is as high as the sky.
Deep as the sea, baby
My burden is as deep as the ocean.
Cruel as the day I's born
My burden is as harsh as the day I was born.
If you come down to meat me
If you come to meet me.
Bring hotdog buns.
Please bring hotdog buns.
I can't go on dragging along
I cannot continue to bear my burden.
The world's longest hotdog.
My burden is like a very long hotdog.
Writer(s): dege legg
Contributed by Skyler O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Taylor Lee (Ultimate Powa)
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
Ray Avery
I did enjoy them as well !!! Thanks for the tip !!
halfnir
This has to be one of the best songs about hotdogs.
Latviešu Leģionārs
god bless this song
Nadia Toubal
Simply magnificent...Thks a lot
Faultyegg
Damn i never expected to hear a hot song
Matheus Furuya
Amazing! Let´s dance!!!
Julia Duda
Genius!
arlettegm
outstanding
Ongun Ersir
OMG WTF AWESOME