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.
I Will Always Love You
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I would only be in your way
So I'll go but I know
I'll think of you every step of the way
And I will always love you
Will always love you
That is all I'm taking with me
So good-bye
Please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you need
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope that you have all that you've dreamed of
And I wish you joy and I wish you happiness
But above all this I wish you love
And I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I, I will always love you
The song "I Will Always Love You" by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a cover of the original song by Dolly Parton which was later made famous by Whitney Houston. In this version, the band adds their signature punk rock style to the soulful ballad about love and heartbreak.
The lyrics themselves are a bittersweet farewell. The singer is leaving their loved one, but they are doing so out of love and respect for that person's needs. They acknowledge the memories they shared and the love they had for each other, but ultimately know that they are not what the other person needs. They wish them well in their future endeavors and hope that they find the love and happiness they deserve.
The most powerful line in the song is, "And I will always love you." It's a universal declaration of love that transcends time and distance. This line has been famously covered by countless artists and remains one of the most iconic lines in music history.
Overall, "I Will Always Love You" is a beautifully written and performed song that touches on the universal themes of love, loss, and moving on. It's a reminder that sometimes the greatest act of love is knowing when to let go.
Line by Line Meaning
If I should stay
If I were to remain in your life
I would only be in your way
It would be an obstacle to your life
So I'll go but I know
So I'll leave but I'm aware
I'll think of you every step of the way
I will remember you at every moment
And I will always love you
I will always love you
Will always love you
I will always love you
Bittersweet memories
Memories, both happy and sad
That is all I'm taking with me
That's all I'll take with me when I leave
So good-bye
So, Goodbye
Please don't cry
Please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you need
We both know I'm not what you need
I hope life treats you kind
I hope life treats you kindly
And I hope that you have all that you've dreamed of
And I hope you have everything you've ever wanted
And I wish you joy and I wish you happiness
And I wish you joy and happiness
But above all this I wish you love
But most of all, I wish you love
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I, I will always love you
I, I will always love you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dolly Parton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Widya Nugraha
"I Will Always Love You"
Originally by Dolly Parton
If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go but I'll know
I'll think of you each step of the way
And I
Will always love you
Will always love you
Bittersweet memories
That's all I am taking with me
Goodbye, please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you need
I
Will always love you
Will always love you
Will always love you
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope that you have all that you ever dreamed of
And I wish you joy and I wish you happiness
But above all of this I wish you love
And I
Will always love you
Will always love you
Will always love you
Will always love you
Yeah, yeah
TheQcGamer
If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go but I know
I'll think of you every step of the way
And I will always love you
Will always love you
Bittersweet memories
That is all I'm taking with me
So good-bye
Please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you need
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope that you have all that you've dreamed of
And I wish you joy and I wish you happiness
But above all this I wish you love
And I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I, I will always love you
Dino Ramone
They really nail this one. Incredible. I love a song I hate.
MartyMcFly -
Dolly Parton did a pretty good job covering the Gimme Gimmes đź‘Ť
Scruffy P
This cover is too good!!
Manipulative Undertones
As a cover band it's extremely hard for them to not do the songs justice. They all sound awesome. Almost as if they were originally written to be played by a punk band. Possibly even just this band, lol
Thug Lincoln
this is a perfect cover in my opinion, it's clearly the song it's meant to be, but also bears no resemblance to it all. It's super, super tough to achieve.
Stephan T
Thug Lincoln I like they blended both Whitney and Dolly styles honoring two great performers and making a badass cover. That's the shit đź‘Śđź‘Šđź’Ş
Widya Nugraha
"I Will Always Love You"
Originally by Dolly Parton
If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go but I'll know
I'll think of you each step of the way
And I
Will always love you
Will always love you
Bittersweet memories
That's all I am taking with me
Goodbye, please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you need
I
Will always love you
Will always love you
Will always love you
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope that you have all that you ever dreamed of
And I wish you joy and I wish you happiness
But above all of this I wish you love
And I
Will always love you
Will always love you
Will always love you
Will always love you
Yeah, yeah
Gitfiddle 7766
Great concept great band
The Man w/No Name
Gitfiddle 7766 2019 “Respect and dignity.” Furthermore: (“Respect and dignity!!”) • “Respect and dignity, 2019?”
Skariachies
I love this!!!!