When the Allman Brothers Band reformed in 1989 in response to the popularity of the Dreams box set, Warren Haynes was added on lead guitar and Allen Woody on bass. The two shared a love for '60s power trios, like Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, and James Gang. With no bands making similar music in the 90s (except ZZ Top), Haynes, Woody, and former Dickey Betts drummer Matt Abts came together as Gov't Mule during Allman Brothers' breaks. (It is likely that Haynes and Abts first met during the recording of the Dickey Betts Band CD "Pattern Disruptive" in 1988.) They released their debut album the selftitled Gov't Mule in 1995. It was followed by Live from Roseland Ballroom.
When it became apparent that the Allman Brothers weren't planning on recording any new material, Haynes and Woody left to concentrate full-time on Gov't Mule in 1997. Dose, the studio follow up to their first studio effort, was released in early 1998. They were joined by members of the Allman Brothers, the Black Crowes, and Parliament/Funkadelic for their 1998 New Year's Eve concert. This was released in both a two and four CD version as Live ... With A Little Help From Our Friends. The band exposed some of their roots with covers of Neil Young, Free, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Mongo Santamaria (via John Coltrane) and Frank Zappa.
In 2000, the band released Life Before Insanity to critical praise. Many thought that this would be Gov't Mule's breakthrough CD. However, Woody was found dead in New York City in August. Haynes and Abts considered breaking up the band but did stage a concert called "One for Woody" to raise money for his daughter's education. The Allman Brothers, the Black Crowes, members of the Grateful Dead, and other friends of Woody also performed at the concert.
At both the "One for Woody" performance and other shows, Haynes began appearing with the Allman Brothers Band again. With Dickey Betts' departure from the Allmans, Warren came back full time to the band at the beginning of 2001 and has continued splitting his time between the Allmans and for a period Phil Lesh and Friends and the reformed Dead as well as Gov't Mule (performing acoustic gigs with just Haynes on guitar and Abts on percussion and as The New School of Gov't Mule with Widespread Panic's Dave Schools on bass and Chuck Leavell, formerly of the Allman Brothers and known for his current work with the Rolling Stones on keyboards).
The next year, Haynes and Abts began to record a tribute CD using Woody's favorite bass players. These sessions resulted in two CDs The Deep End, Volume 1 (2001) and The Deep End, Volume 2 (2002). A documentary of the recording sessions was also made by Phish bassist Mike Gordon called Rising Low. Bass contributions to the CDs came from Jack Bruce of Cream, John Entwisle of The Who, Mike Watt of Minutemen, Les Claypool of Primus, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Chris Squire of Yes among others.
When it came to touring in support of the Deep End CDs, Haynes and Abts used a revolving door of keyboardists and bassists. Keyboardists included Chuck Leavell, Rob Barraco of Phil Lesh and Friends and Zen Tricksters, Phish's Page McConnell and Danny Louis. Bassists included among others, Dave Schools, Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers, Les Claypool, Victor Wooten of the Flecktones, George Porter Jr. of The Meters, Greg Rzab formerly of The Black Crowes and the Buddy Guy Band and Andy Hess, also formerly of The Black Crowes. Louis and Hess were eventually added as permanent members of Gov't Mule. They continue to tour extensively and have become staple acts at many music festivals including Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Vegoose, and their annual New Orleans Jazzfest night show (where they filmed and recorded the last show of the Deepest End tours, with 17 guest musicians in a 6 hour show) wich was released on CD/DVD as The Deepest End, Live in Concert.
The first CD with Louis and Hess Deja Voodoo was released in September 2004. Additional material from those sessions was released in 2005 as and EP entitled Mo' Voodoo.
The new lineup's second release, titled High and Mighty, was released on August 22, 2006.
A third, Mighty High, was released in 2007 it features reggae and dub versions of classic Mule covers and originals with special guest appearances by Willi Williams, Michael Franti and Toots Hibbert,
Forevermore
Gov't Mule Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like tears upon my shoulders
I can feel the hard wind blow, blow on forevermore
I can feel the gods look down
Some laugh while some are crying
I can feel their wasted tears, cry on forevermore
Can’t you see, my whole world is nothing without you
Once in a lullaby you brought me joy and laughter
Now that it’s all used up, I’ll cry forevermore
Once in a lullaby a paper sun was shining
Now that its all burned up, darkness forevermore
Can’t you see, my whole world is nothing without you
Can’t you see, my whole world is nothing without you
Where will I run to when I need a place to hide
Far away from New York City
Who will I turn to now that our love has died
Can’t you see, my whole world is nothing without you
Can’t you see, my whole world is nothing without you
I can feel the rain fall down
Like tears upon my shoulders but
I can’t feel my love
She’s gone forevermore
The opening lyrics of Gov't Mule's "Forevermore" describe the physical feelings that the singer is experiencing as he contemplates lost love. The rain feels like tears on his shoulders and the wind is blowing hard on "forevermore," further emphasizing the sense of perpetual sadness that he is feeling. It's almost as if the natural world is mirroring his emotions. The next verse continues to develop this theme, hinting at a sense of cosmic injustice. The gods, represented through laughing and crying, seem to take pleasure in his misery, but even they are shedding tears at the wasted love that has been lost.
Line by Line Meaning
I can feel the rain fall down
The singer is experiencing rain which feels like tears and is falling on their shoulders.
Like tears upon my shoulders
The rain that is falling on the singer's shoulders feels like tears.
I can feel the hard wind blow, blow on forevermore
The singer can feel the wind which is strong and will continue to blow indefinitely.
I can feel the gods look down
The artist believes that the gods are watching them.
Some laugh while some are crying
The artist thinks that some of the gods are laughing and others are crying.
I can feel their wasted tears, cry on forevermore
The singer can feel the tears of the gods which will continue to cry indefinitely.
Can’t you see, my whole world is nothing without you
The singer is emphasizing that their world has no meaning without the person they are addressing.
Once in a lullaby you brought me joy and laughter
The person the artist is addressing used to bring them happiness and laughter.
Now that it’s all used up, I’ll cry forevermore
The artist is now feeling sad because they believe that the happiness they felt with the person they are addressing is gone forever.
Once in a lullaby a paper sun was shining
The artist is referring to a happy memory where a paper sun brought them joy.
Now that its all burned up, darkness forevermore
The singer believes that the happiness they experienced in the past is now gone forever, replaced by perpetual darkness.
Where will I run to when I need a place to hide
The artist is questioning where they will go when they need to escape or find shelter.
Far away from New York City
The singer is possibly stating that they want to go far away from the city of New York.
Who will I turn to now that our love has died
The singer is questioning who they will turn to now that their love has ended.
I can’t feel my love
The singer cannot feel the love they once had for the person they are addressing.
She’s gone forevermore
The person the artist is addressing is gone and will never return.
Contributed by Hunter B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.