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)
Raining In Baltimore
Counting Crows Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The big top is crumbling down
It's raining in Baltimore fifty miles east
Where you should be, no one's around
I need a phone call
I need a raincoat
I need a big love
These train conversations are passing me by
And I don't have nothing to say
You get what you pay for
But I just had no intention of living this way
I need a phone call
I need a plane ride
I need a sunburn
I need a raincoat
And I get no answers
And I don't get no change
It's raining in Baltimore, baby
But everything else is the same
There's things I remember and things I forget
I miss you
I guess that I should
Three thousand five hundred miles away
But what would you change if you could?
I need a phone call
Maybe I should buy a new car
I can always hear a freight train
If I listen real hard
And I wish it was a small world
Because I'm lonely for the big towns
I'd like to hear a little guitar
I think it's time to put the top down
I need a phone call
I need a raincoat
The lyrics of Counting Crows's song Raining In Baltimore offer a poignant portrayal of loneliness and longing. The circus, a metaphor for life's chaotic and unpredictable nature, is falling down, leaving the singer feeling lost and disconnected. He's stuck in a train passing conversations by with nothing to say and no one to talk to when what he really needs is a phone call from someone he cares about. The rain in Baltimore, where the person the singer longs for should be, is a symbol of the singer's tears, which he cannot escape.
The singer's yearning for a connection with another person is underscored in the chorus, with him listing the things he needs to feel fulfilled - a phone call, a raincoat, a big love. But he finds no answers, no solace, in his situation. He's stuck in isolation, longing for a sense of purpose and direction.
Overall, the lyrics of Raining In Baltimore are a reflection of the human condition - our search for meaning and connection in a world that seems indifferent to our desires.
Line by Line Meaning
This circus is falling down on its knees
The life that I have been living is falling apart
The big top is crumbling down
Everything that I thought was stable is now crashing down
It's raining in Baltimore fifty miles east
The environment and circumstances around me are gloomy and sad
Where you should be, no one's around
Despite being where you are supposed to be, the place feels abandoned and lonely
I need a phone call
I long for someone to reach out to me and lend an ear to my problems
I need a raincoat
I desire protection from the challenges and difficult situations I am facing
These train conversations are passing me by
I feel left behind in life as the world and people around me move forward
And I don't have nothing to say
I feel like I have nothing useful to contribute to the conversations and situations I find myself in
You get what you pay for
The rewards one enjoys in life are directly proportional to the effort and resources they invest
But I just had no intention of living this way
I never imagined that life would turn out this hard and unfulfilling
And I get no answers
Despite my efforts to find solutions, I have no breakthroughs or answers to my problems
And I don't get no change
My situation remains the same and there seems to be no progress or improvement
There's things I remember and things I forget
In life, there are memories that bring joy and others that cause pain or sadness
I miss you
I long for the warmth and comfort of someone special who is not around
I guess that I should
I acknowledge that it's natural to miss someone who used to be close to me
Three thousand five hundred miles away
The person I miss is far from me geographically
But what would you change if you could?
There is nothing I can do to bring back the person I miss
Maybe I should buy a new car
I am considering changing the things I can control in order to feel better
I can always hear a freight train
Even in the midst of my troubles, there are always other noises and distractions around me
If I listen real hard
If I make an effort to pay attention
And I wish it was a small world
I long for simpler times when life was less complicated
Because I'm lonely for the big towns
I miss the excitement and thrill of lively, bustling cities
I'd like to hear a little guitar
I desire a little bit of joy and entertainment in my life
I think it's time to put the top down
I am considering letting go and prioritizing self-care and fun in my life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ADAM FREDRIC DURITZ, CHARLES THOMAS GILLINGHAM, MATTHEW MARK MALLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind