In 1984 Hornsby formed Bruce Hornsby & the Range, who were signed to RCA Records in 1985. Besides Hornsby, Range members were David Mansfield (guitar, mandolin, violin), George Marinelli (guitars and backing vocals), Joe Puerta (bass guitar and backing vocals), and John Molo (drums).
During the 1990s he toured with the Grateful Dead, and released four albums, including A Night on the Town (1990) after which he split from The Range. Harbor Lights (1993) was his first solo album and signaled Hornsby was moving in a new jazz-influenced direction, whilst retaining elements of rock and pop. Later releases include Hot House (1995) and Spirit Trail (1998).
His experimental album Big Swing Face (2002) attracted much criticism as it veered away from his piano-based style. Despite these criticisms, he returned with his next studio album, shrugging off RCA and signing to Sony Music Entertainment. Halcyon Days, released in 2004, saw a return to the piano as the key instrument; this album also became the premise for his world tour the same year.
Hornsby continues to tour with his live band "The Noisemakers", in addition to solo shows and his progressive bluegrass performances with Ricky Skaggs.
In 2007 he released Camp Meeting, his first total jazz album as The Bruce Hornsby Trio, which involved jazz giants, Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride with whom he made live appearances with throughout 2007.
In March 2007 Hornsby teamed with bluegrass player Ricky Skaggs to produce a bluegrass album, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, and played several tour dates together. The seeds for the album had been sown in 2000 when the pair collaborated on "Darlin' Cory", a track on the Big Mon Bill Monroe bluegrass tribute album and then proposed recording an album together. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, featuring the duo backed by Skaggs's band Kentucky Thunder, combined bluegrass, traditional country, "a tinge of Hornsby's jazzy piano and a splash of humor" on a spectrum of songs from the traditional to new compositions such as the opening track "The Dreaded Spoon," "a humorous tale of a youthful ice cream heist. The pair also reinvented Hornsby's hit "Mandolin Rain" as a minor key acoustic ballad and "give his cautionary tale of backwoods violence", "A Night On the Town," a treatment highlighting the "Appalachian storytelling tradition that was always at the song's heart. The album ended with a surprise cover of Rick James's funk hit "Super Freak" in a bluegrass arrangement. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby topped Billboard's bluegrass charts for several weeks. The album showed Hornsby carving out a place for piano within traditional bluegrass, disproving the notion that the piano is not compatible with "string-oriented" bluegrass.
Concurrently with the bluegrass project, Hornsby recorded a jazz album, Camp Meeting. with Christian McBride (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums). Alongside original compositions by Hornsby, the trio delivered "newly reharmonized versions" of tunes by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, a previously unrecorded Ornette Coleman work ("Questions and Answers") and an early Keith Jarrett composition ("Death and the Flower.") The trio made a series of appearances in the summer of 2007, including the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival and at the Hollywood Bowl.
On January 4, 2007, former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart reunited along with Hornsby, Mike Gordon (of Phish and the Rhythm Devils) and Warren Haynes to play two sets. including Dead classics, at a post-inauguration fundraising party for Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House in the United States Congress.
Hornsby wrote songs for a Broadway Musical, titled "SCKBSTD"; one song from this project, a playful biographical tune about real-estate tycoon Donald Trump titled "The Don of Dons," made several appearances in setlists during his early-2007 solo piano performances. He also composed the score for Spike Lee's ESPN documentary, Kobe Doin' Work, about NBA star Kobe Bryant and his MVP season.
Outside of music composition and performance, Hornsby has taken an ownership interest in Williamsburg area radio station "The Tide," WTYD 92.3 FM, and he has endowed the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program at University of Miami's Frost School of Music, encouraging the study of songwriting broadly across traditional genres. Hornsby played himself in a cameo role in the Robin Williams movie World's Greatest Dad, in which Williams' character is a Bruce Hornsby fan.
He has also been honored by piano makers Steinway & Sons with their Limited Edition Signature Piano Series. Hornsby selected ten Model B Steinway Grands to be featured in this collection, each one personalized with his signature. Hornsby owns three 9-foot Model D Steinway Grands himself.
The Good Life
Bruce Hornsby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then a rabbit's foot for real good luck
Gonna get me some plastic gunga dins
And I'll buy a big house to put 'em all in
I'll buy a new suit when I'm feelin' down
Picks me up and I?ll show it around
I'll wear it once or twice I'm sure
I'm living the good life
I got my beautiful things so high as a kite
Living the good life
I'm flying by so high in the sky
I'll buy the special meal with the prize
And toys with the motorized blinkin' eyes
And lunch and dinner there I'll be
My favorite character eluding me
There's a sale down at the Five And Dime
And everything's going for dirt this time
I don't need this but it's so cheap
The visions of a bargain in my sleep
I'm living the good life
I got my beautiful things so high as a kite
Living the good life
I'm flying by so high in the sky
Living the good life
I got my beautiful things so high as a kite
I'm living the good life
I'm flying by so high in the sky
These wonderful lives everywhere
A house full of things but I don't care
I wonder as I'm sitting there
Maybe I'll feel better in a brand new chair
I'm living a good life
I got my beautiful things so high as a kite
Living a good life
I'm flying by so high in the sky
Living the good life
I got my beautiful things so high as a kite
I'm living the good life
I'm flying by so high in the sky
I'm living a good life
I've got my beautiful things so high as a kite
Living a good life
I'm flying by so high as a kite
High as the sky
The lyrics of Bruce Hornsby's song The Good Life seems to express a sense of materialistic indulgence and consumerism. The artist talks about purchasing expensive things like a big red truck, a new suit or a big house. He also mentions his favorite character eluding him, indicating the influence of media and pop culture on his choices. He speaks about the joy of finding something cheap, even if he doesn't need it but just for the sake of a good value deal. He is living the good life on a high, quite literally, as he is flying by so high in the sky.
However, the lyrics also seem to express a sense of emptiness in material possessions. The artist seems to question the sense of fulfillment he gets from acquiring material things. He wonders whether he would feel better in a brand new chair, indicating a sense of searching for happiness in things that can be bought. The lyrics seem to highlight the shallow nature of materialism in consumerist culture.
Overall, The Good Life is a commentary on the culture of consumerism and the lack of fulfillment that it brings. While material things can bring a temporary sense of happiness, they ultimately leave one feeling empty and unfulfilled.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm gonna buy a big red truck
I plan to purchase a large vehicle of the color red
Then a rabbit's foot for real good luck
Following that, I will acquire a rabbit's foot as a symbol of good fortune
Gonna get me some plastic gunga dins
I intend to obtain some plastic toys called "gunga dins"
And I'll buy a big house to put 'em all in
I will also purchase a spacious residence to house these possessions
I'll buy a new suit when I'm feelin' down
When I am feeling low, I will invest in a new suit to lift my spirits
Picks me up and I'll show it around
This will give me a confidence boost and I will proudly display it
I'll wear it once or twice I'm sure
However, I am likely to only wear it a couple of times
Then I'll get another when feelin' the urge
And eventually, I will purchase another when I feel the desire to do so
I'm living the good life
I believe that I am leading a life of luxury and abundance
I got my beautiful things so high as a kite
I possess an array of exquisite possessions, causing me to feel elated and weightless like a kite
I'm flying by so high in the sky
I feel as though I am soaring through the sky on cloud nine
I'll buy the special meal with the prize
I will indulge in purchases that come with incentives or prizes
And toys with the motorized blinkin' eyes
Additionally, I will acquire toys that have motorized and flashing components
And lunch and dinner there I'll be
I will eat both lunch and dinner there
My favorite character eluding me
However, my favorite character or item may be out of stock or unavailable
There's a sale down at the Five And Dime
There is currently a sale at the small store referred to as the Five and Dime
And everything's going for dirt this time
All of the items are deeply discounted during this particular sale
I don't need this but it's so cheap
Even though I have no use for these items, the low prices tempt me
The visions of a bargain in my sleep
I am even dreaming of the prospect of finding a bargain
These wonderful lives everywhere
Many people seem to be living luxurious lives themselves
A house full of things but I don't care
I am not concerned about accumulating an abundance of possessions
I wonder as I'm sitting there
However, I cannot help but ponder and question my current situation
Maybe I'll feel better in a brand new chair
Perhaps obtaining a brand new chair will make me feel better
I've got my beautiful things so high as a kite
Once again, I have a vast array of wonderful possessions that give me a sense of elation
I'm flying by so high as a kite
I feel as though I am coasting high above the world like a kite
I'm living a good life
I continue to believe that my life is one of abundance and luxury
I'm flying by so high as a kite
Once more, I feel as though I am soaring higher and higher like a kite
High as the sky
My sense of elation is immeasurable, as if I am limitless like the sky
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: BRUCE HORNSBY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind