The studio core comprises Spike Slawson on vocals, bassist Fat Mike, Joey Cape on guitar and backing vocals, Dave Raun on drums, and Chris Shiflett on guitar (his brother Scott of Face To Face/Viva Death fills in for Chris on tour). Touring members have included Brian Baker (Bad Religion/Minor Threat), Barry DaLive (Crosstops/RKL), Eric Melvin (NOFX), Matthew MacNasty (bagpipes player from the Real McKenzies), and Warren Fitzgerald (The Vandals).
Originally a themed 7" singles project, now each of their full length albums covers a different genre of music spanning the 50's to the 90's. Their first release in 1997 was entitled Have a Ball, followed by Are a Drag in 1999. In 2001 they released Blow in the Wind and two years later released Take a Break. Almost immediately after the release of Take a Break the released a live album Ruin Johnny's Bar Mitzvah The genres they've butchered now include country, on Love Their Country featuring covers of songs made popular by The Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash and others. Their most recent release is a collection of B-sides from their album Have a Ball, simply titled Have Another Ball.
The Gimme Gimmes perform to entertain themselves as much as for the entertainment of their fans. Their albums and concerts are some of the most lighthearted and off the wall musical experiences in the punk world. Concerts are often interrupted between songs to freshen cocktails at the on stage tiki bar. CD liner notes relate the hardships of recording such as Fat Mike getting so caught up in "Wild World" that he believed he was Fat Stevens, a guitar-toting Islamic Extremist, so that when Spike sang "All My Lovin" he mistook it for "Allah my Lovin" and condemned Spike to death for heresy.
The Gimmes are also known for their costumes. Each album has a 'theme' for which they all dress up for the cover art and live shows. Some themes include red suits, metallic suits with fezzes, cheerleader outfits, drag (each Gimme dressed as a character from a musical they took songs from on the cover of Are a Drag: Chris Shiflett was Columbia and Spike was Dr Frank N. Furter from Rocky Horror, Joey Cape was Annie, Fat Mike was Sandy from Grease and Dave Raun was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz). During a Warped Tour they dressed as AFI, to the confusion of many fans. Most recently they have been dressing as cowboys, but are possibly best known for their lurid Hawaiian shirts.
Or their live album, "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah", the band performed for a crowd of 30 at a Bar Mitzvah. The CD contained video of the actual event and the liner notes were written by attendee Benjamin Rosenblatt who describes the events: "They made a lot of mistakes. They even started a song then stopped, then started again." -track 7 "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the CD.
Delta Dawn
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
And did I hear you say he was meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky
She's forty-one and her daddy still calls her baby
All the folks around Brownsville say she's crazy
Cause she walks downtown with a suitcase in her hand
Looking for a mysterious dark haired man
Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on
But a man of low degree stood by her side
And promised her he'd take her for his bride
Delta Dawn what's that flower you have on
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
And did I hear you say he was meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky
Delta Dawn what's that flower you have on
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
And did I hear you say he was meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky
Delta Dawn what's that flower you have on
Could it be a faded rose from days
gone by?
The lyrics of "Delta Dawn" tell the story of a woman named Delta Dawn, who is still called "baby" by her father at the age of 41. She is considered crazy by the townspeople of Brownsville because she walks around with a suitcase in hand, looking for a mysterious dark-haired man who promised to take her for his bride. In her younger days, Delta Dawn was the prettiest woman in town, but she was left behind by a man of low degree who stood by her side. The song wonders if the flower she has on is a faded rose from her past, symbolizing that her youth and beauty are gone. The lyric "To take you to his mansion in the sky" refers to the idea of dying and going to heaven, suggesting that the man Delta Dawn is searching for may have already passed away.
Line by Line Meaning
Delta Dawn what's that flower you have on
What is the name of the flower you're wearing, Delta Dawn?
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
Is it possible that the flower you're wearing is a rose that has lost its color with time?
And did I hear you say he was meeting you here today
Did I just hear you saying that someone is coming to meet you today?
To take you to his mansion in the sky
Is he taking you to his heavenly mansion?
She's forty-one and her daddy still calls her baby
Even though Delta Dawn is forty-one, her father still calls her his little baby girl.
All the folks around Brownsville say she's crazy
The people in Brownsville think Delta Dawn is insane.
Cause she walks downtown with a suitcase in her hand
They think she's crazy because she walks around downtown carrying a suitcase.
Looking for a mysterious dark haired man
Delta Dawn is searching for a man with dark hair, but no one knows who he is or where he is from.
In her younger days they called her Delta Dawn
When she was younger, Delta Dawn was known by the name Delta Dawn.
Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on
Delta Dawn was the most beautiful woman anyone had ever seen.
But a man of low degree stood by her side
Delta Dawn's partner was not of a high social standing.
And promised her he'd take her for his bride
He promised to marry Delta Dawn.
Delta Dawn what's that flower you have on
What flower are you wearing now, Delta Dawn?
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
Is it possible that the flower you're wearing now is a rose that has lost its color with time?
And did I hear you say he was meeting you here today
You said someone is coming to meet you today, right?
To take you to his mansion in the sky
Is he taking you to his heavenly mansion?
Delta Dawn what's that flower you have on
Delta Dawn, what flower are you wearing now?
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
Is it possible that the flower you're wearing now is a rose that has lost its color with time?
And did I hear you say he was meeting you here today
Did you say someone is coming to meet you today?
To take you to his mansion in the sky
Is he taking you to his heavenly mansion?
Delta Dawn what's that flower you have on
Delta Dawn, what flower are you wearing now?
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
Is it possible that the flower you're wearing now is a rose that has lost its color with time?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Alex Harvey, Larry Collins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind