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)
Miami
Counting Crows Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You come circling through the light
The skyline is bright tonight
What more perfect rendezvous?
The sundown paints the shadows through
The daylight, Amy, on what we do
It looks like darkness to me
Can I say
I wish that this weather would never leave?
It just gets hard to believe
That god sent this angel to watch over me
Cause my angel
She don't receive my calls
Says I'm to dumb to
To dumb to fight
To dumb to save
Well, maybe I don't need no angel at all
It looks like darkness to me
Drifting down into Miami
She could pull the sunlight through me
Coming down into Miami
Make a circle in the sand
Make a halo with your hands
I'll make a place for you to land
The bus is running
It's time to leave
The summer's gone
And so are we
So come on baby,
Let's go shut it down in New Orleans
The lyrics of "Miami" by Counting Crows are open to interpretation but they convey a feeling of acceptance of the present moment, the beauty of nature, the influence of a special person in the singer's life, and the desire for freedom. The opening lines suggest that the singer is in a positive state of mind and that he sees the world as a beautiful place represented by the bright skyline of Miami at night. He talks about a rendezvous with a person named Amy in this picturesque setting and refers to the shadows cast by the sundown as a metaphor for the darker aspects of life.
In the second verse, the singer mentions that he wishes the good weather would last forever because it's difficult to believe that an angel-like person, who he feels watches over him, exists. He laments the fact that he cannot communicate with her because she thinks he is too foolish to call her. However, he comes to the conclusion that he does not need an angel and that freedom is more important.
The chorus includes the titular location, Miami, which is compared to a place of darkness from the view of the singer, who is "drifting" into it. He contrasts this feeling of darkness with the light and warmth he shares with Amy, who "could pull the sunlight through" him.
Line by Line Meaning
I guess I think I feel alright
I'm not sure if I'm okay, but I'm trying to convince myself that I am
You come circling through the light
You appear suddenly and unexpectedly like a shining light
The skyline is bright tonight
The cityscape is illuminated with bright lights and is beautiful to see
What more perfect rendezvous?
There could not be a more ideal meeting spot
The sundown paints the shadows through
The setting sun creates interesting and beautiful shadows
The daylight, Amy, on what we do
The situation we find ourselves in is affected by both day and night, and I'm addressing a woman named Amy
It looks like darkness to me
What's happening isn't good, and things seem dark and uncertain
Drifting down into Miami
Going to Miami is like descending into the unknown
Can I say
I want to express something
I wish that this weather would never leave?
I hope this good situation lasts
It just gets hard to believe
It's difficult to appreciate how good it is
That god sent this angel to watch over me
It feels like a higher power has given me someone special to protect me
Cause my angel
Referring to the person who's supposed to be looking out for me
She don't receive my calls
This person doesn't answer my phone calls or messages
Says I'm too dumb to
She thinks I'm too stupid to be worth her time
To dumb to fight
I'm not capable of standing up for myself or asserting myself
To dumb to save
I can't save myself in difficult situations
Well, maybe I don't need no angel at all
I don't need anyone else to save or protect me, even if they seem like an 'angel'
She could pull the sunlight through me
This person can make me feel so good that it's like they're shining sunlight through me
Coming down into Miami
Returning to Miami, as if from above
Make a circle in the sand
Draw a circle in the sand with something like a finger
Make a halo with your hands
Form a halo with your hands, surrounding your head or someone else's head
I'll make a place for you to land
I'll create or provide an area for you to safely come down or rest in
The bus is running
The bus we need to take is ready and working
It's time to leave
We need to go now
The summer's gone
The time of year when we had fun together is now over
And so are we
We're not together anymore
So come on baby,
Please, let's go
Let's go shut it down in New Orleans
Let's go to New Orleans and have a great time, even if it's to escape something else
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ADAM FREDRIC DURITZ, BEN G MIZE, CHARLES THOMAS GILLINGHAM, DANIEL JOHN VICKREY, DAVID A IMMERGLUCK, DAVID LYNN BRYSON, MATTHEW MARK MALLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind