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.
You Could've Left Me
Randy Rogers Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can see that leavin in your eyes, I even know that look
You think that I dont know, You think I have no clue
I guess letting me down easy, was more than you could do
(Chorus)
But you could have left me, before I let you in
You could have left me, before you did me wrong
But you cant leave me now, cuz I'm already gone
Well thats right its to late, yeah I left along time ago
You were to busy livin' it up, honey I was letting go
Well now don't act so sad, those tears arent even real
You aint ever gonna see me again, tell me how does that feel
(Chorus)
You could have left me, before I let you in
You could have left me, before we tried what might have been
You could have left me, before you did me wrong
But you cant leave me now, cuz I'm already gone
We used to talk about forever, Not so long ago
But forever is all over now, Dont act like you dont know
(Chorus)
In Randy Rogers Band's song You Could've Left Me, the lyrics tell a story of a broken relationship where the singer is aware of the other person's intention to leave, but wishes they had left earlier. The opening stanza suggests that the singer is not fooled by the other person's attempt at pretending everything is fine. They have read them like a book and can see the look in their eyes. The singer even goes as far as acknowledging that the other person thinks they have no clue but the truth is letting them down easy was more than they could handle.
The chorus drives the point home as the singer laments that the other person could have left before anything happened between them. The idea of what might have been if they had never gotten together is also highlighted, suggesting the pain they are presently experiencing could have been avoided. The third stanza sees the singer essentially telling the other person that it is too late for any attempts at resuscitating the relationship. The other person's tears appear to be fake and the singer tells them that they will never see them again, asking how that feels.
The final chorus brings the song full circle as the singer reminds the other person of what could have been. They used to talk about forever, but that is not possible anymore. The singer is gone, and even though the other person may have wanted to leave, they can't because the singer is already out the door. With this Randy Rogers Band song, the lyrics are straightforward, and the point is well communicated.
Line by Line Meaning
You cant fool me, I can read you like a book
I see through your actions and understand your true intentions.
I can see that leavin in your eyes, I even know that look
Your eyes betray that you want to leave, and I am familiar with that expression.
You think that I don't know, You think I have no clue
You believe that I'm oblivious to what's happening, but I'm not.
I guess letting me down easy, was more than you could do
You couldn't bring yourself to be honest with me, and opted for an easier way out.
But you could have left me, before I let you in
I wish you had left me before I became emotionally invested in you.
You could have left me, before we tried what might have been
It would have been better if we had ended things before pursuing a relationship.
You could have left me, before you did me wrong
It would have saved me from pain if you had ended things before betraying me.
But you cant leave me now, cuz I'm already gone
I've already moved on from this relationship and don't need you anymore.
Well thats right its to late, yeah I left along time ago
It's too late for you to make things right, I have already moved on from this relationship long ago.
You were to busy livin' it up, honey I was letting go
You were too preoccupied with your own life, and I was allowing myself to detach from the relationship.
Well now don't act so sad, those tears aren't even real
You're putting on a show of sadness, but I know it's not genuine.
You aint ever gonna see me again, tell me how does that feel
We're not going to cross paths again, and I'm curious if that affects you.
We used to talk about forever, Not so long ago
We had conversations about a future together, but that's now a distant memory.
But forever is all over now, Dont act like you dont know
The prospect of a future between us is gone, and I know you realize it too.
Contributed by Hunter B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
كل يوم حصري في الرياضة
amaaaaaazing
Cole Z
upload Before I believe its true