"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.
Bang My Head
Cross Canadian Ragweed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bottle in my hand
How it ever got to go far I guess I'll never understand
Cause I bend and bend until I break
Then I bend some more
Sometimes I feel like a piece of dirt down on your floor
[Chorus]
Bang it until it bleeds
To me it makes no difference at all
I got to bang it 'till I' can't see
Don't know what you think of me
I don't really care
I got to bang my head against the wall cause it's there
I sit and stare at the telephone
Why don't it ring
Once upon a time I thought I knew it all
Turns out I don't know one damn thing
Pick it up and I throw it down
I pick it up again
I'm gonna keep slammin' it to the floor till someone's on the other end
[Chorus]
I don't know why I'm sittin' here
Seems like I used to know
Knew everything I wanted everywhere I needed to go
Friends stop and they smile at me
They say you got it all
But what they don't know what they don't see
Are the holes up and down my hall
[Chorus]
Sun comin' up at the break of dawn
I can't shut my eyes
It's like a pile of wire coat hangers inside of my mind
Now I'm down here on the floor
My world spinning around
I get the feeling I ain't ever gonna leave this God forsaken town
[Chorus]
The song "Bang My Head" by Cross Canadian Ragweed is a reflective song that delves into the emotions of an individual who is frustrated about life's direction. The persona is portrayed as being alone, sitting in an easy chair, with a bottle in hand, and contemplating the choices and decisions that have led to a stagnant life. It becomes apparent that he is at a point where he believes banging his head against a wall is more helpful than waiting on the phone to ring or sitting around feeling sorry for himself.
The persona talks about bending and bending until he breaks, and the frustrations that come with feeling like a piece of dirt on someone's floor. He seems stuck and lost, uncertain of his next step, and is dealing with emotional pain. His frustration has led him to a point where he believes that banging his head against the wall is the only therapy that he can handle. The words, "Bang it until it bleeds / To me, it makes no difference at all / I got to bang it 'till I' can't see / Don't know what you think of me / I don't really care / I got to bang my head against the wall because it's there," illustrate his need to release the emotions that are building inside him.
The chorus of the song is repeated throughout, and the lyrics to the song suggest that the persona's life has no meaning or purpose, and the pain and frustration he is feeling have left him with no option but to bang his head against a wall.
Line by Line Meaning
Check me out in my easy chair
I am sitting in my comfortable chair, relaxed and with a bottle of liquor on my hand
Bottle in my hand
I have a bottle of liquor in my hand, which may explain why I am in my easy chair
How it ever got to go far I guess I'll never understand
I do not understand how I ended up in this situation, drinking alone in my easy chair, with no one around to talk or interact with
Cause I bend and bend until I break
I am constantly bending and compromising myself until I reach my breaking point
Then I bend some more
After reaching my breaking point, I still find myself willing to bend even further, which is likely harmful to my well-being
Sometimes I feel like a piece of dirt down on your floor
I feel worthless, like a piece of dirt, and not important enough to be recognized or respected
I bang my head against the wall
I express my frustration and anger by physically hurting myself, such as by banging my head against a wall
Bang it until it bleeds
I am willing to endure physical pain to relieve my emotional pain
To me it makes no difference at all
I do not care about the consequences of my actions, as long as I am able to relieve some of my pain and frustration
I got to bang it 'till I' can't see
I will continue banging my head until I can no longer see, which is a sign that the physical pain has become too much for me to handle or that I have lost consciousness
Don't know what you think of me
I do not care or worry about what others think of me or my actions, as their opinions do not relieve my pain or make me feel better
I don't really care
I do not care about anything, including my own well-being or the consequences of my actions
I got to bang my head against the wall cause it's there
I will continue to bang my head against the wall because it is the only thing I can think to do in order to relieve my pain, and I feel that I have no other options
I sit and stare at the telephone
I am waiting and hoping for someone to call me, to distract me from my thoughts and provide me with some relief
Why don't it ring
I am disappointed and frustrated that the phone is not ringing, as I feel that this is my only hope for some form of relief or interaction with others
Once upon a time I thought I knew it all
I used to believe that I had all the answers and knew what I wanted and needed from life
Turns out I don't know one damn thing
However, I have come to realize that I do not know anything at all, and that I am lost and uncertain about my life and the world around me
Pick it up and I throw it down
I am constantly picking things up and putting them back down in frustration, as I cannot seem to find anything that provides me with any relief
I'm gonna keep slammin' it to the floor till someone's on the other end
I will continue to slam things to the floor until someone calls me, in the hopes that this will distract me and provide me with some relief
Friends stop and they smile at me
My friends see me and are happy to see me, which makes me feel better about myself and my situation
They say you got it all
My friends believe that I have everything I need and want, and that I am lucky to be in my situation
But what they don't know what they don't see
However, my friends do not know the pain and frustration that I am dealing with internally, which is not visible to them
Are the holes up and down my hall
I have holes in my walls, which may have been made out of frustration, anger or sadness
Sun comin' up at the break of dawn
The day is starting, and the sun is coming up
I can't shut my eyes
However, I am unable to close my eyes and rest, as my thoughts and emotions are still tormenting me
It's like a pile of wire coat hangers inside of my mind
My thoughts and emotions are tangled and twisted, like a mess of wire coat hangers piled up inside my head
Now I'm down here on the floor
I am now on the floor, possibly due to either exhaustion, frustration or pain
My world spinning around
I feel disoriented and dizzy, as if the world around me is spinning
I get the feeling I ain't ever gonna leave this God forsaken town
I feel trapped and stuck in my current situation, and it seems as if I will never escape
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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