Read Full Bio ↴Delta Rae is an American band formed in Durham, North Carolina in 2009.
Their debut album, Carry the Fire, was released on June 19, 2012.
The band consists of three siblings Ian Hölljes (vocals and guitar), Eric Hölljes (vocals, guitar, piano and keys) and Brittany Hölljes (vocals), as well as Elizabeth Hopkins (vocals), Mike McKee (percussion) and Grant Emerson (bass guitar). They began as a four-piece ensemble and added McKee and Emerson to the dynamic in 2010.
A little history:
Seymour Stein’s office sits way up in the high rises of the Rockefeller Plaza; a corner office, with a beautiful view out over New York City, its surfaces cluttered with all of the memorabilia, awards and accumulated paraphernalia of a lifetime spent in the music industry.
It was into this office that the six members of Delta Rae shuffled one day in the summer of 2011. A rather convoluted connection had led them here to this meeting, their first with a major record label, and no one was quite sure how to proceed. “We were very nervous,” recalls Ian Holljes, with perhaps some understatement.
“But we talked briefly, and then Seymour said ‘Well, why don’t you sing something for me?’” The band duly launched into Hey Hey Hey, a joyous, rollicking tune that begins with an exquisite four-part harmony. Ten seconds in, Stein asked them to stop. The band balked. But Stein stood up, walked to the door and hollered for his colleagues to join them. “You gotta hear these people!” he cried into the hallway. “They sound so beautiful!”
The story that led Delta Rae to Stein’s office, a major label deal, and the release of their stunning debut album, had in fact begun many years before, in the Holljes household, where siblings Ian, Eric and Brittany, enjoyed a childhood that was close yet itinerant, carrying them from Durham, North Carolina, to the Bay area of San Francisco, via Nashville, Tennessee, and Marietta, Georgia. Throughout it all, they relished the continuity of great music — their parents’ record collection, rich with James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon.
Along the way, Ian and Eric forged what they describe as “a close musical bond” writing songs together from a young age. Their younger sister, meanwhile, was in possession of “this huge, brassy voice,” Ian recalls. “When she was young, it was like a lion that you couldn’t quite tame. But as she got older and we got to know her voice we saw the power in it.”
For Ian, Eric, Brittany and Elizabeth it was a matter of working out how best to get their voices, their words, and their sentiment heard. “Playing those early shows, you’re often confronted by half-working sound-systems and weird venues and so you have to find an energy that can at times transcend the music,” Ian explains. “So a lot of times we’d come down off stage and sing something in the middle of the audience, or be screaming out as opposed to singing in order to convey the emotion, to find something primal that will affect people.” Soon earning a reputation as incredible live performers, the band's hope was that if their music was pushed and pulled and tried and tested in front of an audience, then by the time they came to record, the songs would be strong and robust.
The 12 songs on Carry the Fire display the great stew of the band’s own shared histories and influences, as well as those of the land that bore them. There is the richness of Americana, of gospel, bluegrass, blues and pop, but there is also the well-oaked, deep-rooted tradition of storytelling, folklore, mythology. There is a thread that binds together west coast harmonies and the gospel choir, Southern gothic and civil rights, all of the tensions and the joys and the fierce, bright hope of America’s great cultural, geographical, musical journey.
As well as tales of loves lost and kindled and preserved, there are plenty of songs on the album shaped by the shared history of the siblings (and Elizabeth, a friend since childhood) and that celebrate the intensity of that bond.
http://www.deltarae.com
Bottom of the River
Delta Rae Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
If you get sleep or if you get none
The cock's gonna call in the morning, baby
Check the cupboard for your daddy's gun
The Lord's gonna come for your first born son
His hair's on fire and his heart is burning
So go to the river where the water runs
Wash him deep where the tides are turning
And if you fall
If you fall
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight
Drunk and driven by a devil's hunger
Drive your son like a railroad spike
Into the water, let it pull him under
Don't you lift him, let him drown alive
The good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder
Let that fever make the water rise
And let the river run dry
And I said
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way, a long long long way
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
The lyrics of Delta Rae's song Bottom of the River seem to be influenced by myths, legends, and stories. The opening lines, "Hold my hand, Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river," sets the tone for the song as being dark and ominous. It's like the singer is trying to offer someone support and guidance as they face a difficult and dangerous journey, and that destination is the bottom of the river.
The lyrics touch on themes of fear, sacrifice, and redemption. The song talks about a calling, a coming of age, something inevitable that's going to come and test you. The reference to the "cock's gonna call in the morning" evokes a sense of urgency and impending doom. It's as if the singer is trying to warn the listener that time is running out, and they need to act fast. The line "check the cupboard for your daddy's gun" seems to suggest that there's danger lurking outside, and the character needs to be prepared to defend themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Hold my hand
Stay with me and don't let go
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Metaphor for the depths of despair, the point of no return
If you get sleep or if you get none
No matter what you do or don't do
The cock's gonna call in the morning, baby
Morning will come either way
Check the cupboard for your daddy's gun
Suggests violence as a way out of problems
Red sun rises like an early warning
An ominous sign signaling the coming of danger
The Lord's gonna come for your first born son
A reference to the biblical story of Passover, suggesting a sacrifice will be necessary
His hair's on fire and his heart is burning
Metaphor for being in a state of extreme distress
So go to the river where the water runs
A place of cleansing and renewal
Wash him deep where the tides are turning
A baptism, washing away sins and past mistakes
And if you fall
If you stumble along the way
The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight
Metaphor for being hunted by evil men
Drunk and driven by a devil's hunger
Driven by an uncontrollable urge to do wrong and hurt others
Drive your son like a railroad spike
A gruesome metaphor for sacrificing one's child
Into the water, let it pull him under
A way of punishing or sacrificing one's own child
Don't you lift him, let him drown alive
Letting evil take over oneself, leading to self-destruction
The good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder
A voice of judgement and warning
Let that fever make the water rise
A fever can bring about change, for better or worse
And let the river run dry
A metaphor for the dying of hope and spirit
Ooh, baby, it's a long way, a long long long way
Reinforcing the idea of how difficult it is to escape the depths of despair and evil
Hold my hand
The need for human connection and compassion in times of trials and suffering
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
Reinforcing the idea of how far into the abyss someone can go
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ERIC RICHARD HOLLJES, IAN CHRISTIAN HOLLJES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@thursdaycarter4533
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
If you get sleep or if you get none
The cock's gonna call in the morning, baby
Check the cupboard for your daddy's gun
Red sun rises like an early warning
The Lord's gonna come for your first born son
His hair's on fire and his heart is burning
So go to the river where the water runs
Wash him deep where the tides are turning
And if you fall
If you fall
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight
Drunk and driven by a devil's hunger
Drive your son like a railroad spike
Into the water, let it pull him under
Don't you lift him, let him drown alive
The good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder
Let that fever make the water rise
And let the river run dry
And I said
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way, a long long long way
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
@egobang0716
Uh, guys, this isn't a white girl singing a song about slavery. This is about the Salem witch trials, oppression of women in accusation of witchcraft in the name of God. The lyrics connect to when people threw the accused into a river as a bogus trial to see if they were a witch. If they sunk, they were a normal citizen. If they floated, they were a witch and were taken and killed anyway. Either way you were dead. If you were accused of being a witch, the best thing to do was to run from the mob. That's what the song's about, so PLEASE stop getting angry about Delta singing a nonexistent song about slavery!
EDIT: How the hell did this get so many likes? Why are you all here?!?
@augustrubedo665
♥ Thank you.
@tyannastephens3058
August Rubedo god, have you known that at least one family member was or still is a witch,you need to stop trying to find out what the song is and what it means, and just listen to the music ! !!
@Lukiel666
I never thought about that interpretation. I just liked the song. Now I like even more.
@tyannastephens3058
Good , some people are shocked to that come out of a 13 year old. I love this song.
@tyannastephens3058
I don't think it would be the best thing to remember
@meccajohnson9870
She was a witch because in the beginning when they came into her room her reflection didn't turn around like her body did
@Volcarion
+Mecca Johnson i got she was a witch from the demons that pop up and act as background dancers. didn't notice the reflection. spooky touch
@mark.edfordef9870
also when they take her from the room the face is still in the mirror, not to mention everyone is dead on the floor when she's finished, I love the pace of the tune and the vid its a bit like an old school Michael Jackson music vid.
@rogue9428
+Mecca Johnson Freaks me out every time I see that. ;)