The band made its recording debut in 2001 with Blackwater, following up in 2004 with Lochloosa (both released under the name Mofro; both albums reissued by Alligator). In 2007 the band, with it's current name, released Country Ghetto, followed by the 2008 album Orange Blossoms. With the release of 2010’s Georgia Warhorse, the band stepped further into the mainstream view with the AAA radio breakout single The Sweetest Thing. In 2011 the full fury of the band’s live show was captured on the live CD/DVD Brighter Days.
April 2013 brings the release of the band's sixth studio album, This River. Named for the St. John’s River, a centering point for Grey's childhood near Jacksonville, Florida, b]This River flows from freewheeling celebrations (Florabama) to dark inner journeys (Somebody Else), from late night, beer-soaked testimonials (Your Lady, She’s Shady) to heartfelt ballads of the almost-forgotten (The Ballad Of Larry Webb), and ends with the title track and a singularly devastating vocal performance. With Dan Prothero at the helm as producer, JJ and the band once again returned to Retrophonics Studio in nearby St. Augustine, Florida and muscled out some of JJ’s strongest material to date.
The band has played countless festivals, including Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Austin City Limits Festival, Byron Bay Blues Festival (Australia), Montreal Jazz Festival and Fuji Rock (Japan). Over the course of his career, Grey has shared stages with the likes of Lenny Kravitz, B.B. King, The Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, Los Lobos, Jeff Beck, Ben Harper, Booker T. Jones, Mavis Staples and many others. In 2011 the band extensively toured the UK. That same year, back in the U.S.A., Grey embarked on his first-ever solo tour, playing packed-to-capacity clubs. The band returned to Europe in 2012, playing multiple dates in the UK, Germany and The Netherlands.
JJ’s songs have appeared in film and network television including House, Flashpoint, Crash, Friday Night Lights, The Glades, The Deadliest Catch and the film The Hoot. In November 2009, JJ wrote his first film score for the critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning documentary The Good Soldier, that appeared in theatres and on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. In 2010, JJ played piano, sang and contributed a song (The Wrong Side) to Buckwheat Zydeco’s Grammy-winning Alligator Records album Lay Your Burden Down. JJ also appears on Shemekia Copeland’s Grammy-nominated 2012 CD 33 1/3.
Gotta know
JJ Grey & Mofro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How do you grow?
Does the sun light your power?
I gotta know
I gotta know more,
Know more than you
Hello little star, I spied on you
Tell me is that true,
Cause I want to know more,
Know more than you
I went to the circus and I saw this bear
He was riding a bicycle trying to be human
We all laughed cause we knew he couldn't do it
We ask the questions then make all our own answers up
Hello Lord, I got your number now
It took me a while but I figured you out
And now
I know more,
I know more than you
Now I know more,
I know more than you
Oh,
Now I know more,
I know more than any god in the hell or heavens knows
I know more than anybody could ever know
I know more, more than any science, science in the world
I finally understand, it cant be understood
I finally understand, it cant be understood
I finally understand the good Lord can't be understood
I finally understand, it cant be understood, no no no
The lyrics of JJ Grey & Mofro's song "Gotta Know" present a series of questions that seek to understand the mysteries of life and beyond. The song opens with the image of a "little flower" and a question about how it grows, wondering if it derives its power from the sun. The second verse follows a similar trend, addressing a "little star" and its alleged distance from Earth. These questions are asked in order to gain knowledge and insight beyond what is currently understood.
The third verse takes a different approach, as the singer recounts a moment at the circus where they observed a bear attempting to ride a bicycle like a human. This odd sight prompts the singer to question the human ability to make assumptions and draw conclusions without being fully informed or knowledgeable. The singer concludes that the quest for answers requires more than just asking questions, it also requires using critical thinking and reasoning in order to arrive at a true understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey there little flower, How do you grow?
JJ Grey is curious about how a little flower grows and wants to know if it derives its power from the sun.
Does the sun light your power? I gotta know
JJ Grey wants to know if the sun provides the energy for the little flower to grow.
I gotta know more, Know more than you
JJ Grey wants to learn everything there is to know about the little flower and its energy source.
Hello little star, I spied on you
JJ Grey has noticed a star in the sky and wants to learn more about it.
They say you're a million miles away, Tell me is that true, Cause I want to know more, Know more than you
JJ Grey wants to know if the star is actually a million miles away and wants to learn everything there is to know about it.
I went to the circus and I saw this bear, He was riding a bicycle trying to be human
JJ Grey went to the circus and saw a bear attempting to ride a bicycle like a human, which was amusing.
We all laughed cause we knew he couldn't do it, We ask the questions then make all our own answers up
The audience laughed because they knew the bear couldn't ride a bicycle and it's a metaphor for humans sometimes making assumptions without actually knowing the truth.
Hello Lord, I got your number now, It took me a while but I figured you out, And now, I know more, I know more than you
JJ Grey believes he has finally figured out God and knows more about him than God himself.
Now I know more, I know more than you
JJ Grey believes he knows more than anyone or anything else, suggesting arrogance or simply an insatiable curiosity.
Oh, Now I know more, I know more than any god in the hell or heavens knows, I know more than anybody could ever know, I know more, more than any science, science in the world
JJ Grey believes he knows more than God, any other religious figure, and any scientific principle or theory, indicating a desire for complete knowledge or perhaps a delusion of grandeur.
I finally understand, it cant be understood, I finally understand, it cant be understood, I finally understand the good Lord can't be understood, I finally understand, it cant be understood, no no no
After all his searching for knowledge, JJ Grey finally realizes that God and some aspects of existence cannot be completely understood by humans, no matter how much they try.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: ADIE GREY, DAVE MACKENZIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind