Many of the Lost Dogs albums include at least one or two cover songs. Songs covered by the Lost Dogs include Bob Dylan's "Lord, Protect My Child," Leonard Cohen's "If It Be Your Will," The Beatles' "I'm A Loser," and Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More." They have also recorded a number of Traditional or Gospel standards such as "Dust On The Bible," and "Farther Along."
In March, 2000, shortly after the release of their Gift Horse album, Gene Eugene died in his sleep at The Green Room, his recording studio in Huntington Beach, California.
2003 saw the release of the band's first DVD, Via Chicago, a black and white concert film released by Lo-Fidelity Records. A follow-up DVD, Via Chicago (All We Left Unsaid), containing additional songs from the concert, was released in 2006.
Although the loss of Eugene is noticeable, the remaining three Lost Dogs members continue to tour and record new albums. In 2004, the band got together with longtime friend Steve Hindalong to produce a special album for their summer tour. The result was entitled Mutt, and included new acoustic versions of nine songs originally written and recorded for each band member's regular rock bands, with one new song. The following year, the band would release one of their most unusual recordings to date, the almost entirely instrumental Island Dreams.
The band's most recent project, Old Angel, was released May 2010. The band — including the newest official "dog," drummer Steve Hindalong — once again hit the road for a national tour in support of their new album.
Free At Last
Lost Dogs Lyrics
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Lives just down the street
She's got her riding hood on
And bells on her feet
She cools me down
When I turn up the heat
I used to chew tobacco,
Now my breath is sweet
Now I'm free at last
Free at last
Thank God, thank God
I'm free at last
I met a woman
She dressed in black
All she did was just
Yakity-yak
I talked back and got the sack
Thank God I got out before I kacked
I once fell in with Big 'Ol Bill
The man that lived up on the hill
Made me ill, taught me to kill
I'm wondering if Bill lives up there still
See, see him sailing on the Devil E. Lee
He's taking photos a plenty
But none of me
Elephant sleeping at the foot of his bed
He put a dove on their wall
And a bullet in my head
In this song, Lost Dogs refer to a queen of heaven who seems to live near the singer. The queen wears a riding hood and bells on her feet. She is someone who could cool down the singer when he is heated. The lyrics indicate that the singer used to chew tobacco, but thanks to the queen, his breath now smells sweet. The song then proceeds to narrate a series of events where the singer has had to leave certain situations. The first situation was with a woman dressed in black who talks incessantly. The singer was sacked for talking back to her. In the second situation, the singer fell in with an individual known as Big 'Ol Bill, who lived up on the hill. Bill made the singer ill and taught him to kill. The lyrics end with an eerie description of Bill taking photos on the Devil E. Lee and the singer speculating whether Bill still lived up there. There is also mention of an elephant sleeping at the foot of Bill's bed and how he put a dove on Bill's wall and a bullet in the singer's head.
Line by Line Meaning
The queen of heaven
There's a woman down the street who is like a savior to me
Lives just down the street
She's living pretty close to me so I can reach out to her when in need
She's got her riding hood on
She's cloaked like a rider ready to move swiftly from one place to anther
And bells on her feet
I can hear the bells on her feet as she walks
She cools me down
She provides a sense of relief and calmness when I'm agitated
When I turn up the heat
In moments of high emotional stress
I used to chew tobacco
I had unpleasant habits in the past that I've stopped
Now my breath is sweet
Now I smell good and clean after quitting smoking
Now I'm free at last
Finally, I have freed myself from my unpleasant past
Thank God, thank God
I'm grateful to God for setting me free from my previous struggles
I met a woman
I encountered another woman
She dressed in black
She was garbed in black from head to toe
All she did was just
All she did was talk and talk
Yakity-yak
It was just mindless chatter
I talked back and got the sack
I ended up being fired because I gave her some rude response
Thank God I got out before I kacked
I'm glad I got out of there before things got worse
I once fell in with Big 'Ol Bill
There was a man named Big 'Ol Bill
The man that lived up on the hill
He lived on top of the hill
Made me ill, taught me to kill
He made me feel sick and even taught me some violent skills
I'm wondering if Bill lives up there still
I haven't seen him for a while and I'm curious if he's still around
See, see him sailing on the Devil E. Lee
I see him in my head, sailing on a boat named Devil E. Lee
He's taking photos a plenty
He's busy taking lots of pictures
But none of me
None of those pictures are me
Elephant sleeping at the foot of his bed
He had an elephant sleeping right beside his bed
He put a dove on their wall
He placed a dove on the wall for decoration
And a bullet in my head
But the man aimed and shot me in the head
Contributed by Camilla C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.