"My dad was a guitar player. He played with Bob Wills and a little bit with Reba McEntire when she was first starting out," says Ragsdale. "He really didn't want me to be a drummer but I insisted. I found a set of drums in a neighbor's trash one day and hauled them into the cellar. He kind of figured out after about a year that I was serious and finally got me a new drum set. And when he met Cody, he realized his talent and how seriously we wanted to take music, and he really pushed us. He completely drove us up the wall, but later down the road, we realized he did it for a good reason."
Once the band got its chops they moved to Stillwater, Okla., where acts like Mike McClure's Great Divide and singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave had established enough of a local scene to earn Stillwater the nickname "North Austin" (or, depending on your perspective, "West Nashville"). Inspired by McClure's self-penned Great Divide songs (and more than a little by early Steve Earle), the band quickly grew out of its Merle Haggard and classic rock covers and began focusing on Canada's uncommonly honest and straight-forward originals. A potent foursome of albums -- 1998's Carney, 1999's Live at the Wormy Dog, 2001's Highway 377 and 2002's Live at Billy Bob's Texas -- collectively sold more 70,000 copies to date. Combined with the band's average of 200 gigs a year, Cross Canadian Ragweed cinched a place at the top of the Texas-Oklahoma music totem pole.
"We're a little more rock 'n' roll than other people [from the Oklahoma/Texas scene], and that's not a bad thing," laughs Canada, whose Southern-fried lead guitar licks betray his love of heroes like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pete Anderson (of Dwight Yoakam fame) and Eddie Van Halen -- not to mention the fact that he's been playing since he was 8 years old.
After building a huge concert following in Texas and Oklahoma, the band decided to look into signing a record deal. In 2003, fledgling label Universal South released a self-titled album (produced by McClure) that the band recorded prior to signing their record deal. They released Soul Gravy in 2004 and Garage in 2005.
Their offical website is at www.crosscanadianragweed.com.
Alright
Cross Canadian Ragweed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rolls me like thunder,
Knocks me down like a fifth of Tennessee
She's the pitch that I can't hit,
She's the joke that I don't get,
She's crazy and that's alright by me.
Chase it like a white line
Sometimes she wants the man that I can't be
I m a fool out counting the stars
Another poet in the bars
I'm Crazy and that's Alright with me
[Chorus]
It's alright, she steps all over me.
Give me some time and I will make her see
That we're crazy and that's alright with me
Summer on the coast
A money game of pool
Proof that sometimes one and one is three
We're a 4th of July parade
Though we don't know we've got it made
We're crazy and that's alright with me.
[Chorus: x2]
The song "Alright" by Cross Canadian Ragweed is a classic country rock song about a wild and unpredictable woman. The lyrics use a mixture of metaphors and similes to describe the woman's effect on the singer. The opening line, "She skips me like a rock, Rolls me like thunder, Knocks me down like a fifth of Tennessee" creates a vivid image of the woman being both light and fast-moving as well as powerful and destructive. The next line, "She's the pitch that I can't hit, She's the joke that I don't get" describes the woman's unpredictable nature and how the singer struggles to understand her. Yet, despite all of this, the singer still finds her irresistible, stating that "She's crazy and that's alright by me."
The chorus emphasizes the singer's acceptance of the woman's erratic behavior, even when it hurts him. He acknowledges that "she steps all over me" and that sometimes he can't be the man she wants, but he still wants to make it work because he loves her. The final verse describes a carefree summer spent playing pool and being happy together, even though they don't always know what they're doing. The repeated line, "We're crazy and that's alright with me" reinforces the idea that love can be messy and unpredictable, but as long as they have each other, everything is alright.
Line by Line Meaning
She skips me like a rock,
She moves on from me quickly, bouncing away like a skipping rock.
Rolls me like thunder,
She enters my life powerfully, like a roaring thunderstorm.
Knocks me down like a fifth of Tennessee
She hits me hard, like drinking too much Tennessee whiskey and getting knocked down.
She's the pitch that I can't hit,
She represents the things I can't accomplish, like a pitch in baseball that I can't hit.
She's the joke that I don't get,
She's beyond my comprehension, like a joke that I can't understand.
She's crazy and that's alright by me.
Even though she's unpredictable and unstable, I accept her for who she is.
Chase it like a white line
I pursue her like a white line on the road, always chasing after her.
Running out of road
I'm limited in my ability to catch up to her and win her over.
Sometimes she wants the man that I can't be
She desires a version of me that I can't fulfill or live up to.
I'm a fool out counting the stars
I'm naively dreaming and hoping for something that may not be possible.
Another poet in the bars
I'm just another hopeless romantic, drinking away my sorrows in a bar.
I'm Crazy and that's Alright with me
I'm aware of my mental state and accept it as a part of who I am.
It's alright, she steps all over me.
She dominates and controls me completely, but I don't mind.
Give me some time and I will make her see
I believe that if I'm given a chance, I can win her over and show her how we belong together.
That we're crazy and that's alright with me
Even though we may be dysfunctional and erratic, I'm okay with it and still want to be with her.
Summer on the coast
We spend a summer together by the water's edge.
A money game of pool
We play a competitive game of pool where money is on the line.
Proof that sometimes one and one is three
Together, we create something greater than the sum of our individual selves.
We're a 4th of July parade
We're a colorful and festive display of celebration, like a patriotic parade on Independence Day.
Though we don't know we've got it made
We may not realize or appreciate how good we have it together, but we do.
We're crazy and that's alright with me.
Even though we may be unconventional or odd, I don't mind and still embrace our relationship.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., DIGITAL 1 MEDIA SERVICES INC.
Written by: SYLEENA N. BETTS, TAALIB JOHNSON, KEMAR RICARDO MCGREGOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind