Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his group exploded on the scene in the mid-'90s an… Read Full Bio ↴Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his group exploded on the scene in the mid-'90s and garnered huge amounts of radio airplay on commercial radio, which historically has not been a solid home for blues and blues-rock music, with the exception of Stevie Ray Vaughan in the mid-'80s. Shepherd was born June 12, 1977, in Shreveport, LA. The Shreveport native began playing at age seven, figuring out Muddy Waters licks from his father's record collection (he has never taken a formal lesson). At age 13, he was invited on-stage by New Orleans bluesman Brian Lee and held his own for several hours; thus proving himself, he decided on music as a career. He formed his own band, which featured lead vocalist Corey Sterling, gaining early exposure through club dates and, later, radio conventions. Shepherd's father/manager used his own contacts and pizzazz in the record business to help land his son a major-label record deal with Irving Azoff's Giant Records. Ledbetter Heights, his first album, was released two years later in 1995. Ledbetter Heights was an immediate hit, selling over 500,000 by early 1996. Most blues records never achieve that level of commercial success, much less ones released by artists who are still in their teens. Although Shepherd -- who has been influenced by (and has sometimes played with) guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Slash, Robert Cray, and Duane Allman -- is definitely a performer who thrives in front of an audience, Ledbetter Heights is impressive for its range of styles: acoustic blues, rockin' blues, Texas blues, Louisiana blues. The only style that he doesn't tackle is Chicago blues, owing to Shepherd's home base smack dab in the middle of the Texas triangle. 1998's Trouble Is... earned a Grammy nomination; Live On followed a year later. In 2004 The Place You're In was released on Reprise Records, the first album that featured Shepherd doing the majority of the lead vocals (singer Noah Hunt handled the lead vocals on the previous two albums). Shepherd's next project saw him traveling in the American South with a documentary film crew and a portable recording studio as he backed up several veteran blues players on their home turf. The resulting album and film, 10 Days Out (Blues from the Backroads), appeared in 2007.

Get It Together
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Lyrics

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You see the people sleeping out on the streets
Ain't got no food, got no shoes on their feet
And I'm walking forward to the back of the beat, oh yeah

She's got an angel painted on her arm
Don't know the difference from right and wrong
I wish I could help her but I'm singing my song

Can we get it together before we fall apart
Let's get it together, get it together
Oh, get it together
Gonna get it together, let's get it together
Yeah, get it together

It's come, it's come along
It's come a long long way and I still ain't got there
Oh now, oh baby now, what we gonna do to turn it all around

I'm looking at you, you're looking at me
It's going down, what's it gonna be
Oh, take time to rearrange, nothing's gonna change

Get it together before we fall apart
Get it together before we fall apart
Get it together, can we get it together?
Will we get it together before we fall apart?

Let's get it together, get it together
Get it together
Gotta get it together, you gonna get it together
Yeah, get it together

Ooh, gonna get it together, you gotta get together

Ooh, get it together
[Incomprehensible] you get it together

Overall Meaning

In the first verse of the song, Kenny Wayne Shepherd addresses the issues of homelessness and poverty. He describes the unfortunate situation of people sleeping on the streets without food and shoes. His thoughts then go to the beat in the background that seems to be moving forward. This reflection could be interpreted as a metaphor for society's attitude towards poverty - progressing with prosperity without taking care of the less fortunate.

The second verse brings attention to a woman who has an angel tattoo on her and does not seem to distinguish right from wrong. Although Kenny wishes to help her, he is tied up with his own music and cannot do much else. The chorus tries to reconcile this conflict by asking to "get it together" before everything falls apart. The repetition of the phrase emphasizes the urgency of this need to bring harmony and unity amongst people who are struggling in society.

The song highlights the problems of inequality, poverty and homelessness faced by people today. The lyrics are a call to unite and work together to combat these social imbalances. It also emphasizes the role of artists in society to raise awareness about such issues and helps listeners to reflect upon their behaviour and responsibilities.

Line by Line Meaning

You see the people sleeping out on the streets
Observing the homeless people who are resting on the streets.

Ain't got no food, got no shoes on their feet
The underprivileged people without food and shoes.

And I'm walking forward to the back of the beat, oh yeah
We're progressing, and I'm leading the way, but we're not moving forward rhythmically as we could be.

She's got an angel painted on her arm
The lady has a tattoo of an angel on her arm.

Don't know the difference from right and wrong
She's unsure and lacks knowledge between right and wrong.

I wish I could help her but I'm singing my song
Despite wanting to help her, he can't abandon his commitment to music.

Can we get it together before we fall apart
Is it possible for us to unite and fix our problems before we break apart?

Let's get it together, get it together
Let's come together and fix everything.

Oh, get it together
Oh, Please unify and address the problems we're facing.

Gonna get it together, let's get it together
We will create a union and resolve the situation we're facing.

Yeah, get it together
Indeed, please join forces and work on this matter collaboratively.

It's come, it's come along
We made progress.

It's come a long long way and I still ain't got there
We've come a long way, but we haven't reached our goal yet.

Oh now, oh baby now, what we gonna do to turn it all around
What will we do to improve and correct the situation in which we are stuck?

I'm looking at you, you're looking at me
We're aware of each other's presence and expecting something from one another.

It's going down, what's it gonna be
The moment has arrived, what decision will we make?

Oh, take time to rearrange, nothing's gonna change
Regardless of how much time we take, if we don't put in the effort to make changes, nothing will improve.

Get it together before we fall apart
Act before it's too late, establish consensus and act in cohesion.

Get it together, can we get it together?
Again, let's unite and take action to improve the situation.

Will we get it together before we fall apart?
Is it possible for us to come together and nurture collaboration before it's too late?

Gotta get it together, you gonna get it together
We must reunite and respond to this crisis.

Ooh, gonna get it together, you gotta get together
We're going to join forces to get everything back in order.

Ooh, get it together
Yes, one more time, let's get it together and resolve the crisis.

[Incomprehensible] you get it together
Even if it seems chaotic or confusing, please come together and address the situation.

Contributed by Jayden I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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