Ponderosa is a southern psychedelic band , formed 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia,… Read Full Bio ↴Ponderosa is a southern psychedelic band , formed 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

"In the low light of the hut the old man sat quietly puffing on his mapacho. “You must disengage from your... continuity,” he said, referring I’m sure to my earbuds, which, with apologies, I cranked. As I tapped the last drop out of the clay cup and laid back on the ragged foam mat I saw that the old man’s face was no longer his, but a hawk’s. The spirit-world comes on like that.
The music I came to see with my third eye, Ponderosa’s Pool Party, started with a voice, a silver high- lonesome in a mist (or maybe the mist was the voice), an electric guitar that identified itself (verbally, and I’m translating here) as He-who-makes-things-sprout, then a convergence at something analogous to a rain dance, as if conducted (in lapis lazuli) by Keith Moon. Pianos and guitars and harmonies breathed into existence tetrahedrons, Spanish friars, bird-lions, machine elves, Quetzacotl, so forth, and landscapes, always the sweeping, rolling variety. No point going on about what the music looks like. To paraphrase the giant, blazing eye that cries honey, you must see for yourself.
Hearing Ponderosa’s previous album for the first time was a no less illuminating experience if a very different one, involving a trampoline, two bottles of rye, and a sack of possum. Another facet of Ponderosa, another method to ascertain its nature. That album, Moonlight R evival, belongs in the Southern rock canon as much as anything by the Crowes or Little Feat, but more crucial is that with it Ponderosa delivered the first successful fusion of straight Southern rock and Revolver-era Beatles, utterly seamless and genetically sound, not a Frankenstein. This is the musical equivalent of mapping the genome, drunk, using only a monocle. Impossible, yet Ponderosa demonstrated that “a thing that cannot be done can be accomplished by not-doing it.” And because that sounded more conclusively relevant when it was told to me by a stag with no mouth, let’s add that Ponderosa’s clear m.o. is following its bliss.
Which is how Pool Party came to be, as Kalen Nash says without hesitation, “mainstream pop.” Not the logical follow-up album, it’s the organic one. The sound is still easily classifiable: rock:: lush, steady, propellent; the ten songs on Pool Party are no less distinguished and hooky than the shit-kickers and whiskey ballads on Moonlight R evival. Pool Party gives the impression of a completed sonic thought, and there is in fact a narrative in there, a dream-fable, more appropriately. If none of that suggests a tone, think magic hour in the Smokies, or the low Sonoran, or in the hills outside Tenochtitlan, where the feathered jaguar with the tusks hangs out."

-Mike Ruffino

Little Runaway
Ponderosa Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Put a man straight out on his own
I tell you, this boy, you'll sink like a stone
Wait around till the full of the moon
When it's green on the field and the skies are blue

Tell your lies just to take your time
Think you can see until you tell you're blind
Catch the first train out of town

Don't look back, boy, don't you turn around

Oh, I know it's so hard

You better run, run, run, you better run
You better run, run, run, you better run
You better run, run, run, you better run
Better run away

Find a life that you call your own
Find a heart that you needed so long
Take some time and you listen good
'Cause you do things you say that you never could

Walk around in a couple of shoes
The walk in [Incomprehensible] swear you would never use
Feel real love and you feel strong
Sometimes boy, it don't last too long

Oh, I know that it's so hard

But you better run, run, run, you better run
You better run, run, run, you better run
You better run, run, run, you better run
Better run away [Incomprehensible]

Oh, I know that it's so hard
Oh boy, you know I know it's so hard

You better run, run, run, you better run
You better run, run, run, you better run

You better run, run, run, you better run
You better run, run, run, run, run

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Ponderosa's song Little Runaway speak of a young man who is urged to leave his familiar life behind and to set out on his own, despite the difficulties that come with it. The song tells the story of a boy who is lost and has yet to find his place in the world, but is encouraged to take a leap of faith in search of a meaningful life. The song speaks of the challenges that come with starting anew, of facing one's own fears and uncertainties, and of learning to trust in oneself and in the world around us. It is a song that celebrates the courage and determination of those who venture out into the unknown, and who seek to carve out a path for themselves in life.

The lyrics are crafted with a beautiful simplicity that is matched by the gentle melody, creating a hauntingly beautiful song that lingers in the mind long after it has ended. It is a message of hope, of finding strength in times of adversity, and of embracing the journey that lies ahead. Through its eloquent lyrics, beautiful melody, and powerful message, Little Runaway reminds us that there is always a way forward, even in the darkest of times.

Line by Line Meaning

Put a man straight out on his own
Leave a man alone and without guidance

I tell you, this boy, you'll sink like a stone
You won't be successful or able to survive on your own

Wait around till the full of the moon
Wait for the right time

When it's green on the field and the skies are blue
When the conditions are good

Tell your lies just to take your time
Deceive and waste time

Think you can see until you tell you're blind
You don't see the truth until it's too late

Catch the first train out of town
Leave quickly and without hesitation

Don't look back, boy, don't you turn around
Don't dwell on the past and keep moving forward

Find a life that you call your own
Find your own path and purpose

Find a heart that you needed so long
Find love and fulfillment

Take some time and you listen good
Take time to reflect and learn