The trio originally formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006 by Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals), Dave Haywood (background vocals, guitar, piano, mandolin) and Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals).
Scott is the daughter of country music singer Linda Davis, and Charles Kelley is the brother of pop artist Josh Kelley. It was these family connections and music industry ties that helped launch the band. Kelley moved to Nashville in mid-2005 from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he had been working construction with his brother John. Trying to become a successful solo country artist, Kelley convinced his old middle-school classmate, Haywood, to move to Nashville from Georgia in 2006 so they could write music together. Shortly thereafter, Scott recognized Kelley from MySpace, and they started to talk at a Nashville music club. Kelley later invited Scott to join him and Haywood in the new group, which assumed the name Lady Antebellum. The name Antebellum comes from when the group were photographing "antebellum" homes. The antebellum ('pre-war') architectural style describes the large plantation homes in the American South. While photographing the houses one of the group said that there's a great band name in there, and they adopted the Lady Antebellum name shortly after. The trio then began performing at local venues in Nashville before being signed in July 2007 to a recording contract with Capitol Records Nashville. In an interview with Sirius Satellite Radio, Scott claimed she was rejected from the hit show American Idol two times, not even making it past the first round.
Shortly after the trio signed to the label, adult contemporary artist Jim Brickman chose Lady Antebellum to sing on his 2007 single Never Alone, which reached #14 on the Billboard adult contemporary charts. In mid-2007, Lady Antebellum also wrote a song for the MTV reality television series The Hills.
Their solo debut single Love Don't Live Here was released in September of 2007, with a music video for the song following in December. This song was the lead-off single to the band's self-titled debut album. Released on April 15, 2008, Lady Antebellum was produced by Paul Worley and Victoria Shaw, a Nashville songwriter and former solo artist. Love Don't Live Here reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album itself was the first album by a new duo or group to debut at Number One on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts.
A second single, Lookin' for a Good Time, was issued in June 2008 and peaked at #11 in December. In addition, Lady Antebellum was signed as an opening act on Martina McBride's "Waking Up Laughing Tour" in 2008. Lady Antebellum also contributed the song I Was Here to the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack, a song which peaked at #24 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 based on downloads. In December 2008, their rendition of Baby, It's Cold Outside peaked at #3 on the same chart. Their third official single, I Run to You, was released in January 2009. It eventually became the trio's first Number One in July 2009.
On October 7, 2009 their debut album was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of one million copies in the United States.
In August 2009, the group released their fourth single, Need You Now, the lead-off single and title track to their second studio album. It debuted at #50 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and became their second Number One hit on the charts for the week of November 28, 2009. The song also reached a peak of #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a number-one hit on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart, making it a crossover hit. A second single, American Honey, was released to radio on January 11, 2010 and would become their third #1 hit. Our Kind of Love was released as the third single from the album on May 31, 2010 and became a #1 single in September, 2010.
The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts for the week of Feb. 2, 2010, selling 480,922 copies in the first week. Four weeks after the album's release, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The week of January 9, 2011, the group ventured into the studio to begin recording for their third studio album. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kelley said, "We actually just went ahead and decided we’re gonna take two, two and a half months straight in the studio to create this thing and not have all this distraction. Hopefully that will be a good thing". He goes on to say that the group has around 50 songs which they plan to choose from along with songs from other songwriters. However, he singles out a song called Dancing Away With My Heart as one the band is particularly excited about, a song that the group co-wrote with Josh Kear, who previously wrote with the group on their hit Need You Now.
On May 2, 2011, the group released the first single from their upcoming album, titled Just a Kiss. The group performed the single on stage on American Idol's result show on May 5, 2011.
On June 11, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests, the band announced they would rename themselves "Lady A" in order to avoid racist connotations with Civil War history, as the original name was based on the Antebellum South. The band stated on social media that they were "deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued."
Slow Down Sister
Lady Antebellum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I just can't get you off my mind
I ain't your fool, I'm not falling
I'm not falling in love with you
I play by my rules
And believe me
You don't want me too close to you
And even though you look so fine
I've been on this broken road one too many times
So slow down sister 'cause I just can't love ya
But I just can't get you off my mind
Oh and Lord knows I need ya
But I just don't want to
Put this rusted heart upon the line
I've heard people say
That I'm crazy
That I'm crazy for avoiding you
But honey I got my freedom
And my reasons
All the reasons for what I do
But that last kiss just did me in
And I don't wanna look at you as something
More than a friend
So slow down sister 'cause I just can't love ya
But I just can't get you off my mind
Oh and Lord knows I need ya
But I just don't want to
Put this rusted heart upon the line
Oh slow down sister
I've got to make you mine
Oh all I'm asking for is just a little time
A little more time
So slow down sister 'cause I just can't love ya
But I just can't get you off my mind
Oh and Lord knows I need ya
But I just don't want to
Put this rusted heart upon the line
Would you slow down, slow down, slow down
Just a one time!
In the song Slow Down Sister, Lady Antebellum is telling a woman to slow down her advances because even though he cannot love her, he still can't get her out of his head. The singer explains that he won't fall in love with her, but he needs more time to understand his feelings. He warns her that she doesn't want him too close because he's been hurt before and doesn't want to experience heartbreak again. He has his freedom and reasons for not wanting to fall in love. However, the woman's last kiss was enough to break him down and realize he might have feelings for her.
The song talks about the emotional conflict the singer is facing - he enjoys being with the woman, but he's afraid of letting his guard down and falling in love. The lines "So slow down sister 'cause I just can't love ya, but I just can't get you off my mind" and "Oh and Lord knows I need ya, but I just don't want to put this rusted heart upon the line" aptly convey his hesitance to commit fully to a relationship.
Overall, the lyrics convey the complexity of new feelings and how tough it can be to let go of the past and trust someone new.
Line by Line Meaning
Slow down sister 'cause I just can't love ya
I can't love you but you are moving too fast
But I just can't get you off my mind
I can't stop thinking about you
I ain't your fool, I'm not falling
I'm not naive, I'm not falling in love with you
I play by my rules
I have my own way of doing things
And believe me
Trust me
You don't want me too close to you
You don't want to get too involved with me
And even though you look so fine
Although you are attractive
I've been on this broken road one too many times
I have been hurt before and don't want to experience it again
Oh and Lord knows I need ya
I do have feelings for you
But I just don't want to
But I don't want to risk getting hurt
Put this rusted heart upon the line
Risk my heart that has been hurt before
I've heard people say
Others have commented
That I'm crazy
That I'm making a mistake
That I'm crazy for avoiding you
That I'm making a mistake by not pursuing you
But honey I got my freedom
But I value my independence
And my reasons
And I have my own reasons
All the reasons for what I do
I have thought this through
But that last kiss just did me in
But our last kiss affected me emotionally
And I don't wanna look at you as something
And I don't want to complicate our friendship
More than a friend
By becoming more than friends
Oh slow down sister
Take things slower
I've got to make you mine
I want to be with you
Oh all I'm asking for is just a little time
But I need some more time to figure things out
So slow down sister
So let's take things slower
Would you slow down, slow down, slow down
Can we slow things down, just this once?
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHARLES KELLEY, DAVE HAYWOOD, VICTORIA SHAW, JASON GAMBILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind