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
Hey Hey Hey
Delta Rae Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you want to love me now baby?
Hey hey hey
Ain't you thinking 'bout me?
I've been trying to get you off of my mind for some time now
Ain't going well baby
Ain't much room left baby 'tween these four walls
I tried to love you babe and I'm trying still
I've always loved you babe and I always will
The neighbor's dogs are chained, they don't bark no more
Nothing happens here that's worth yelling for
But there'd be music babe if we ever walked by
You know we'd wake the world if we only tried, and I say
Hey hey hey
Don't you want to love me now baby?
Hey hey hey
Ain't you thinking 'bout me?
I've been trying to get you off of my mind for some time now
Ain't going well baby
Won't you think about loving me?
Your window's open babe, but your doors are closed
You want a breeze to sweep in and shake your bones
But the sky is clear as day and the air is calm
So come on out and play I'm not here that long
'Cause the times are tough now babe, but they're ours to own
Make the most of it or just stay at home
I've come by once and I won't be back again
Aw, who am I kidding babe, won't you let me in?
Hey hey hey
Don't you want to love me now baby?
Hey hey hey
Ain't you thinking 'bout me?
I've been trying to get you off of my mind for some time now
Ain't going well baby
Won't you think about loving me?
The song "Hey Hey Hey" by Delta Rae is a song of longing and unrequited love. The first verse starts with the singer pleading with the subject of the song to love them. The chorus repeats this plea twice, emphasizing the singer's desperation. The second verse describes the situation of the relationship, with the two involved getting distant and their love getting heavier and heavier.
The third verse uses imagery to paint the picture of the two lovers' environment. The neighbor's dogs, which no longer bark, and the lack of excitement in their surroundings, make the singer yearn for more music and energy in their lives. This then leads into the final plea to the subject of the song, "Won't you think about loving me?"
The song is a tale of wanting what you can't have, and trying to convince someone else to feel the same way. The singer's desperation is palpable, but it's ultimately up to the object of their affection to decide whether or not to reciprocate.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey hey hey
The singer is trying to grab the listener's attention.
Don't you want to love me now baby?
The singer is pleading with the listener to love them right now.
Ain't you thinking 'bout me?
The singer is questioning whether or not the listener is thinking about them.
I've been trying to get you off of my mind for some time now
The artist is trying to forget about the listener but it's not going well.
Ain't much room left baby 'tween these four walls
There's not much space left in the relationship.
Our hearts have grown as heavy as cannonballs
The singer and listener both feel weighed down and burdened by their relationship.
I tried to love you babe and I'm trying still
The singer has attempted to love the listener and is still trying.
I've always loved you babe and I always will
The artist has always loved the listener and always will.
The neighbor's dogs are chained, they don't bark no more
The environment around them is stagnant and lifeless.
Nothing happens here that's worth yelling for
Nothing is happening that's worth getting excited about.
But there'd be music babe if we ever walked by
If they were together, they could create their own music and excitement.
You know we'd wake the world if we only tried, and I say
The artist believes they could make a difference if they tried together.
Your window's open babe, but your doors are closed
The listener is open to the idea of a relationship but not entirely ready to commit.
You want a breeze to sweep in and shake your bones
The listener wants something exciting to happen.
But the sky is clear as day and the air is calm
The outside world is peaceful and calm.
So come on out and play I'm not here that long
The artist wants the listener to take a chance on their relationship because life is short.
'Cause the times are tough now babe, but they're ours to own
The world is going through a tough time but they can make it through together.
Make the most of it or just stay at home
They can either make something of their relationship or stay stagnant.
I've come by once and I won't be back again
The singer has made an effort to reach out once but won't try again.
Aw, who am I kidding babe, won't you let me in?
The artist still wants to be let in and given a chance.
Won't you think about loving me?
The artist is still asking the listener to consider loving them.
Contributed by Andrew Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.