When the Randy Rogers Band’s last project debuted as the most-downloaded country album on iTunes, plenty of the industry “insiders” on Music Row were left scratching their heads: Who are these guys?
The Nashville elite may not have known about the five-piece band, but much of America already did. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them alongside such artists as U2 and the Stones in its list of Top 10 Must-See Artists in the summer of 2007. They earned $2.5 million—a staggering total for a still-developing act—on the tour circuit in a single year. Willie Nelson, the Eagles, Gary Allan and Dierks Bentley all picked them as opening acts for their concerts. And more than 2,200 people showed up and bought the bands album at an appearance at Wherehouse Music.
The fans’ exuberance was shared by USA Today, which praised the band for having “loads of grit, swagger and heart.”
The Randy Rogers Band built its audience by combining forces: It’s a dynamic live act centered around songs that fit the rowdy, party vibe of the concert circuit, but their songs also say something.
That’s particularly true in their album, The Randy Rogers Band, in which a dozen persuasive tracks give the listener plenty of reasons to want to down a celebratory brewski. But the songs also maintain a depth that makes them powerful and provocative even beyond their edgy arrangements and tough-guy sound.
Invariably, the songs are about people making choices and dealing with the consequences they bring. That’s the case in the opening “Wicked Ways,” in which a string of wild endeavors leaves an out-of-control adult in need of redemption. It’s true in “When The Circus Leaves Town,” where a performer comes to terms with the emotional crash that accompanies the conclusion of a pumped-up show. It’s even a tenet in “One Woman,” a ballad that finds a former playboy recognizing his old choices and behaviors were a shallow pursuit next to the promise and solidity that stand before him.
“These songs are definitely true, and they’re relatable to many different life situations that I’ve either gone through in the past or will go through in the future,” Rogers, the lead singer and primary songwriter, says. “I just tried to create believable characters and relatable characters. I hear from fans that we really have helped them in real-life situations when they’ve applied the songs to their everyday life. That’s what I strive for in the songs that I write.”
“We’re not old, but we are getting a little bit more mature,” bass player Jon Richardson asserts, drawing laughter from the rest of the band. “We’re trying to be more mature, anyway. And that’s something that we can write about a little more naturally now instead of ‘Here’s a song about how much fun I had’ or ‘Here’s a song about a girl.’ That’s probably just a natural progression of our own lives being reflected in our songs.”
Indeed, the Randy Rogers Band is confronting the same questions about relationships and identity that face many of the college students and young adults that form the centerpiece of the group’s audience. The balancing act between work, home and recreation is a difficult one—even tougher for an ensemble that spends more than 200 days annually on the road.
“All the guys, except for Jon, are married or soon to be married,” guitarist Geoffrey Hill observes. “Les [drummer] and I both have kids. So sometimes it feels like you’ve really gotta struggle to fit all that into your life, I guess, but it’s kinda part of the game. I always said that I play music for free, and I get paid to leave the family behind and go on the road.”
That requires a constant rededication to the group, a commitment the five members have repeatedly made since the current lineup coalesced in 2003.
The Randy Rogers Band’s status as a group has occasionally confused its audience, which sometimes assumes Rogers is simply a solo artist. It’s the same issue that acts such as Huey Lewis & The News and Edwin McCain have battled, though one that doesn’t concern RRB all that much.
“I don’t think it’s an issue at all,” fiddler Brady Black asserts. “I think when we got together, Randy had already had a band, and his name had been out a little bit, and so we just kind of went with it.”
“That,” Black smirks, “and he owned the van…”
Actually, the name came rather innocently. Rogers had developed a following, he played open-mic nights, impressing club owner Kent Finlay enough to offer Rogers his own regular night, as long as he found a band to back him.
That group might have taken his name, but Rogers—who’d had previous experiences as a guitar player in another band—had no interest in being just a one-man show.
“I always wanted everybody to be equal, not only financially but also input-wise and creatively,” he says. “When we started the band, I pledged to them that I would work every day as hard as I could and try to get us down the highway a little further if they would sign up with me and share in some of those sacrifices, and I think from that day on, everybody pretty much quit their alternative jobs, and kinda gave 110 percent to the band.”
The Randy Rogers Band took the same slot that George Strait and the Ace In The Hole band had once occupied at Cheatham Street, appropriate since the band used the same sort of inner motivation in building its sound as Strait did a generation ago.
Their music is hardly the same. In contrast to Strait’s pure-country aesthetics, RRB combines that traditional country sound with a rollicking, swagger influenced by rugged sounds from such diverse sources as Waylon Jennings and Stone Temple Pilots. But, as Finlay recognized, there’s an authenticity and honesty to the band that parallels Strait’s personal manifesto.
“In a way, George was a little bit out of the box for Nashville when he debuted,” Rogers notes, “I think George Strait, when he first hit town, he knew who he was, and I think that’s partly why he has been so successful throughout his career. If there’s a correlation between the two of us, I think that we definitely have a sound and we know who we are.”
The Randy Rogers Band further distinguishes that identity in its self-titled album, the band’s second release since signing with Mercury Nashville. Produced by longtime admirer Radney Foster, who’s successfully maintained alt country integrity while writing mainstream hits for the likes of Sara Evans and Keith Urban, sessions for The Randy Rogers Band took place at Dockside Studios, a bayou location in Maurice, Louisiana, that’s also been the breeding ground for projects by B.B. King, Mavis Staples, Keb’ Mo’, Levon Helm and Mark Knopfler.
“We shut ourselves up for 10 days and had a band-camp set up,” Richardson observes. “There weren’t any distractions. It wasn’t like we were all goin’ home every night and comin’ back the next day. We were just living and breathing it for 10 days or so. We were just completely absorbed by it.”
The consequences of that choice are just as absorbing for the listener. The album ranges from the hypnotic country of “Buy Myself A Chance” and the first single, “In My Arms Instead,” to the propulsive buzz of “Never Be That High” to the painful conclusion, “This Is Goodbye.”
Rogers’ various performances reflect the wide-ranging influences that snapped together in the process, evoking at times the sneer of Steve Earle, the soul of Bakersfield’s Monty Byrom (formerly of Big House) and the vulnerability of Keith Urban.
With its infectious hooks and daring attitude, the album underscores the iTunes popularity of the Randy Rogers Band, its critical appeal and its significance on the nation’s concert circuit, where they’ve broken attendance records at numerous clubs across the heartland. Even Kenny Chesney, who consistently places among the top-selling tours, saw the group’s blue-collar connection when he covered Rogers’ “Somebody Take Me Home” for the album The Road And The Radio.
Each of the five members recognizes his contribution to the Randy Rogers Band’s overall unity, and they repeatedly make choices—creatively and personally—that keep that all-for-one-and-one-for-all solidarity intact.
One More Goodbye
Randy Rogers Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I just couldn't sleep
I got up to go for a drive
But around up on your street
I know that we said we shouldn't do this anymore
Ah, but lonely is prone to forget
So, I'm standing at your door
Maybe that don't matter tonight
How 'bout one more goodbye
Play with fire just one more time
Let it burn till the morning light
And let it fade away
Girl, we don't even have to pretend
We ain't going back to where we've been
We both know it's not worth another try
But how 'bout one more goodbye
I know we'll regret
If you let me in
We can ask forgiveness tomorrow
If you stay in my arms until then
We don't have to be alone
I don't care if it's wrong
How about one more goodbye
Play with fire just one more time
Let it burn till the morning light
Let it fade away
Girl, we don't even have to pretend
We ain't going back to where we've been
We both know it's not worth another try
But how 'bout one more goodbye
Girl, we don't even have to pretend
We ain't going back to where we've been
We both know it's not worth another try
We both know it's not worth another try
But it's worth one more goodbye
But it's worth one more goodbye
How about one more goodbye
The lyrics to Randy Rogers's song, One More Goodbye, are about a couple who know that they shouldn't be together but can't resist the temptation of one more goodbye. The singer admits that he couldn't sleep and went for a drive that led him to the street where his former lover lives. He knows that they agreed to stay away from each other, but the feeling of loneliness has made him forget that. He stands at her door, wondering if it's right or not, but decides to take the risk.
The chorus talks about how they can play with fire one more time, ignoring the consequences that they will have to face tomorrow. They can let the passion burn until the morning light and then let it fade away. The couple has already accepted that they won't be going back to where they've been, and another try is not worth it. However, the possibility of one more goodbye is worth it to them, despite the pain that they will feel later.
The lyrics convey the conflicted emotions that one goes through when they are trying to move on from a relationship but can't let go completely. The desire to relive the moments of passion and togetherness is strong enough to make them forget the reasons why they broke up in the first place. The song is a testament to the power of love, even when it's not practical or healthy.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby, I know it's late
Admitting that he knows that it is late and that he has come to the realization that he cannot fall asleep.
But I just couldn't sleep
Expressing how he is feeling when he can't sleep.
I got up to go for a drive
Describing how he got up and decided to take a drive.
But around up on your street
Acknowledging that he ended up on her street rather than taking a random drive.
I know that we said we shouldn't do this anymore
Remembering that they mutually agreed to stop this behavior.
Ah, but lonely is prone to forget
Reflecting on the fact that loneliness can make you forget why you stopped doing something.
So, I'm standing at your door
Realizing he is standing at her doorstep and contemplating if he should go in or not.
Well, maybe it's not right
Questioning if this is the right decision.
Maybe that don't matter tonight
Deciding that it doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, he just wants to see her one more time.
How 'bout one more goodbye
Proposing the idea of saying 'goodbye' one more time.
Play with fire just one more time
Suggesting that they take the risk and play with fire again, even if it's just one more time.
Let it burn till the morning light
Indicating that they let this desire burn until morning.
And let it fade away
Allowing their feelings to fade away along with the night.
Girl, we don't even have to pretend
Acknowledging that they don't have to pretend that everything is fine.
We ain't going back to where we've been
Understanding that they can't go back to where they were before.
We both know it's not worth another try
Admitting to each other that it's not worth trying again.
But how 'bout one more goodbye
Still proposing the idea of having one more goodbye despite everything.
I know we'll regret
Realizing that they will both regret this decision.
If you let me in
Telling her that they will both regret it if she lets him in.
We can ask forgiveness tomorrow
Suggesting that they can ask for forgiveness tomorrow if they go through with this.
If you stay in my arms until then
Offering to hold her in his arms until they both have to ask each other for forgiveness.
We don't have to be alone
Comforting her by saying that they don't have to be alone in this situation.
I don't care if it's wrong
Determined to do this even if it's the wrong decision.
But it's worth one more goodbye
Deciding that even if it is wrong, it is still worth having one more goodbye.
But it's worth one more goodbye
Reiterating that it's still worth having one more goodbye.
How about one more goodbye
Asking her one more time if she wants to say goodbye one more time.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CLINT DWAYNE INGERSOLL, RANDY ROGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dylancrimmel
Baby, I know it's late
But I just couldn't sleep
I got up to go for a drive
But around up on your street
I know that we said we shouldn't do this anymore
Ah, but lonely is prone to forget
So, I'm standing at your door
Well, maybe it's not right
Maybe that don't matter tonight
How 'bout one more goodbye
Play with fire just one more time
Let it burn till the morning light
And let it fade away
Girl, we don't even have to pretend
We ain't going back to where we've been
We both know it's not worth another try
But how 'bout one more goodbye
I know we'll regret
If you let me in
We can ask forgiveness tomorrow
If you stay in my arms until then
We don't have to be alone
I don't care if it's wrong
How about one more goodbye
Play with fire just one more time
Let it burn till the morning light
Let it fade away
Girl, we don't even have to pretend
We ain't going back to where we've been
We both know it's not worth another try
But how 'bout one more goodbye
Girl, we don't even have to pretend
We ain't going back to where we've been
We both know it's not worth another try
We both know it's not worth another try
But it's worth one more goodbye
But it's worth one more goodbye
How about one more goodbye
@TJH1971
I know we said we shouldn't do this anymore, but lonely is prone to forget, so I am standing at your door - some of the most true lyrics ever!
@saraspivey1129
💯
@nikkiroen8326
EXCELLENT song. This band does not get the recognition they deserve. <3
@avatx
Nikki Pritchard I agree should be more recognized!
@cherylrichardson9952
I KNOW!!! Why don't we see them at the CMAs? They are 100 times more talented that anyone there!!!
@beckydotts7787
Absolutely love them!!!! Come on...Let their light shine!!! Their very good!!!
@robertjohnson3786
Loved these guys the first time a heard them.
@lgamez7482
Nikki Wernick TRUE
@kevinlewis1645
I work too much so she found somebody else and all I did was listening to Randy Rogers band
@nerdxp999
Who's singing this song into 2020 ?!? give a like!