For the group's first album, Adam and David added bassist Matt Malley, multi-instrument talent Charlie Gillingham, and drummer Steve Bowman. David Immergluck served as the second guitarist on the first album, but he did not officially join the band until 1999. Guitarist Dan Vickery was added just as the band set out on their first tour. As stated before, 'August and Everything After' provided the band with a surprise yet very welcome success, garnering them critical praise. Released on September 14, 1993 through Geffen Records, the album hit #2 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, showing that their tunes had tapped into something.
Counting Crows, with their intimate and confessional yet smooth, often catchy musical approach, achieved a large fan base among melodic rock fans over the years. Their 90s acclaim reflected that a significant music scene looked for something different from the raging guitars of the Seattle-based grunge movement as well as from either boilerplate pop music or the budding electronic music subgenres. The group kept on releasing new songs into the new millennium.
The band's more recent successes include the 2004 hit song "Accidentally In Love", which was featured on the Shrek 2 soundtrack (that has sold over 1,000,000 copies). That song has also garnered nominations for a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. That same year, the band released their first ever best of set, which they titled 'Films about Ghosts'. That album features songs from every phase of the Counting Crows' recording career. To date, the band has sold over 20 million albums worldwide.
The group made the news when 'Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings' was released on March 25th, 2008. In addition, on January 16, 2008, the band released a digital EP as a free download on their official web site, consisting of the songs "1492" and "When I Dream Of Michelangelo". The lead single from the album was "You Can't Count On Me", which was released for radio play on February 4, 2008.
The album itself is thematically and stylistically divided into two parts: the first, more rock-influenced Saturday Nights, and the second, more country-influenced Sunday Mornings. Theme changes along with style; in the Sunday Mornings portion of the album, songs become more reflective. The iTunes release contains several bonus tracks, including a track-by-track interview with Duritz.
Members of the band:
Adam Duritz - lead vocals, piano, wurlitzer, tamborine
David Bryson - guitars, dobro, vocals
Charles Gillingham - piano, organ, accordion, mellotron, vocals
Dan Vickery - guitars, sitar, banjo, vocals
David Immergluck - guitars, bass, electric sitar, mandolin, vocals
Jim Bogios - drums, percussion loops, vocals
Millard Powers - bass guitar, upright bass, piano, vocals
Ex-members of the band:
Matt Malley - guitars, double bass, vocals
Ben Mize - drums, percussion, tambourine, bulbs, vocals
Steve Bowman - drums, vocals
Ben Ulrich - drums
Marty Jones - bass guitar
Lydia Holly - keyboards
Toby Hawkins - drums
Albums
August And Everything After - (September 14, 1993)
Recovering The Satellites - (October 14, 1996)
Across a Wire - Live in New York City - (1998)
This Desert Life - (November 1, 1999)
Hard Candy - (July 8, 2002)
Films About Ghosts: The Best Of - (November 25, 2003)
*New Amsterdam: Live At Heineken Music Hall - (June 19, 2006)
August And Everything After, Deluxe Edition - (Fall 2007)
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings - (March 25, 2008)
Somewhere Under Wonderland - (September 2, 2014)
Hospital
Counting Crows Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey alright, it's too late to put up a fight
Hospital gowns, so you know you should be sleeping
Wide awake, there's some pills that you shouldn't take
Honest to God, X is always an unknown
I said alright, Y gets buried in your bones
I said honest to God, if you don't get it off your chest
I'm afraid I found it's eternally unequal
Hey alright, it's too late to put up a fight
On the way back down, finally a sequel,
Hey alright, in a hospital room tonight
Is it alright, and your exit's always an unknown
It's hard to hold on too tight, 'cause I got buried with your bones
And I said honest to God, if you don't get it off your chest
All your reason gone tonight, you don't have to solve for X
Hospital bound, so you know there will be treatment
Hey alright, in a hospital room tonight
Hospital gowns, so you know you should be sleeping
Wide awake, there's some pills that I shouldn't take
And I said alright, X is always an unknown
I tried to hold on too tight but I got buried with the bone
And I said honest to God, I got to get it off my chest
I don't want to stick around, 'cause I don't need this suffering
The lyrics of Counting Crows's song "Hospital" describe being confined in a hospital, where patients are limited in their freedom and choices. The song speaks about accepting the situation and going through the necessary treatments, even though it feels like being trapped in a place that deprives one of independence. The opening line sets the scene with the singer saying: "Hospital bound, so you know there will be treatment." The line conveys a sense of surrender and acceptance of the situation that the singer is going through.
The lyrics also contain several references to unknown variables, symbolizing the uncertainty and ambiguity that patients can experience in hospitals. The lines "Honest to God, X is always an unknown" and "I said alright, Y gets buried in your bones" refer to mathematical variables X and Y. The singer uses these variables to illustrate the difficulty of predicting outcomes when it comes to health, making recovery an uncertain process. The song implies that patients often have to accept the unknown factors and trust in their medical team to help them recover.
Overall, the song is a reflection on the experience of being hospitalized, often feeling trapped and uncertain, but ultimately trusting in the process and the medical staff for treatment and recovery.
Line by Line Meaning
Hospital bound, so you know there will be treatment
I'm going to the hospital where they treat people.
Hey alright, it's too late to put up a fight
There's no point trying to resist, it's too late for that.
Hospital gowns, so you know you should be sleeping
I'm wearing a hospital gown, which means I should be sleeping.
Wide awake, there's some pills that you shouldn't take
I'm awake even though I should be sleeping, and I have pills that I shouldn't take.
Honest to God, X is always an unknown
Honestly, I don't know what X is.
I said alright, Y gets buried in your bones
I said I'm okay, but deep down I'm struggling.
I said honest to God, if you don't get it off your chest
I honestly believe that if you don't speak up, it will hurt you.
You don't have to stay around, you don't have to solve for X
You don't have to stick around and try to figure everything out.
I'm afraid I found it's eternally unequal
I'm scared because I realized that things are never going to be equal.
On the way back down, finally a sequel,
Things are getting worse, like a sequel to a bad movie.
Hey alright, in a hospital room tonight
I'm in a hospital room tonight, and I'm okay with that.
Is it alright, and your exit's always an unknown
Are things okay? I don't know, and I don't know what's going to happen.
It's hard to hold on too tight, 'cause I got buried with your bones
It's hard to hold on too tightly to something that's already dead and gone.
All your reason gone tonight, you don't have to solve for X
You don't have to overthink everything and try to solve all your problems tonight.
And I said alright, X is always an unknown
I'm okay with not knowing what X is.
I tried to hold on too tight but I got buried with the bone
I tried to hold on too hard to something that was already dead and gone.
I don't want to stick around, 'cause I don't need this suffering
I don't want to stay in a place that causes me pain and suffering.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COBY BROWN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind