Reckless Kelly is an American country rock band. Formed in Idaho, the band … Read Full Bio ↴Reckless Kelly is an American country rock band. Formed in Idaho, the band moved to Austin, Texas in October 1996 and is now based there.

Led by brothers Willy (vocals/guitar) and Cody Braun (vocals/fiddle/mandolin/harmonica), the alternative country-rock outfit Reckless Kelly formed in Bend Oregon in February 1996 before moving to Austin, Texas. The Brauns had previously toured with their father in Muzzie Braun & the Boys, a Western swing band, and were joined in their own group by the lead guitarist Casey Pollock, the bass guitarist Chris Schelske and the drummer Jay Nazz.

With their younger brothers Micky and Gary, Cody and Willy were raised in central Idaho near the Sawtooth Mountains, between Clayton and Challis in Custer County, and were homeschooled by their mother. Originally they were "Muzzie Braun & the Little Braun Brothers", as Muzzie and his brothers Gary and Billy were the "Braun Brothers" from Twin Falls in the 1970s and early 1980s, sons of the musician Eustaceus "Mustie" Braun (1917–1981). From North Dakota, Mustie was a neighbor and relative of the bandleader Lawrence Welk, and was a keyboard player during the last days of legalized gambling in Idaho at Weiser in the early 1950s. He then moved to the new Club 93 in Jackpot, Nevada, on the Idaho border, and moved his family to Twin Falls, about fifty miles (80 km) north. In February 1981, Mustie and wife Marian (née Beckman) were involved in a head-on collision north of Jackpot, and both died from their injuries.

In 1989, Muzzie and his sons appeared on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show twice.

Reckless Kelly played locally on the historic Sixth Street in Austin. They turned Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar, a small bar and restaurant, into a noted music venue. From November 1996 to May 1998, they filled the venue with their Monday night show. During this period, other music venues in Austin invited them to play, including the Continental Club, the Saxon pub, Stubb's barbecue, and Antone's home of the blues.

Reckless Kelly's first album, Millican, appeared in fall 1997 and was officially released in 1998. Acoustic: Live at Stubb's and The Day followed two years later, after which David Abeyta replaced Pollock on lead guitar. Under the Table & Above the Sun in 2003 began the band's relationship with the high-profile Sugar Hill label and won the hearts of the music press and the honky tonkin' legend Joe Ely, who sang the band's praises in interviews. Wicked Twisted Road was released in 2005, and the next year the live album Reckless Kelly Was Here captured the band's stage presence. Bulletproof was released in summer 2008 on a new label, Yep Roc Records, and includes tracks critical of and reflecting on recent sociopolitical unfoldings, such as the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina. In 2010, Reckless released an album of songs by one of their musical heroes, Pinto Bennett. Somewhere in Time, in the band's own words, highlighted their love of "straight-up honky tonk". The band regularly returns to Austin to play before capacity crowds at venues like Nutty Brown Cafe & Amphitheatre.

Younger brothers Micky and Gary Braun front their own band, Micky & The Motorcars. Both bands play at the annual Braun Brothers Reunion in Challis, Idaho, in August.

Broken Heart
Reckless Kelly Lyrics

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You're hiding from love
You see, you don't need it
But if that were true
You could take it or leave it

Well, you gotta learn to walk
But you're afraid of fallin'
Off the line like a shot

Then it's back to crawling

How can it stop if you won't let it start?
I build it up and you tear it apart
It's so hard to love a girl with a broken heart
I love a girl with a broken heart

You still lickin' your wounds
And girl, you're no stranger
To blood, sweat and tears
And a heart scared from anger

We got a love that you find
Maybe once in a lifetime
But you can't hide
From from a memory of the first time

How can it stop if you won't let it start?
I build it up and you tear it apart
It's so hard to love a girl with a broken heart
I love a girl with a broken heart

How can it stop if you won't let it start?
I build it up and you rip it apart

It's so hard to love a girl with a broken heart
I love a girl with a broken heart

Overall Meaning

In Reckless Kelly’s song “Broken Heart” the lyrics are expressing a theme of a person who is reluctant to embrace love again after experiencing heartbreak. The beginning of the song notes how the person is hiding from love, believing they don’t need it, but the lyrics suggest otherwise. They’re simply scared to take love on and are afraid of falling off the “line like a shot.” The repeated question “How can it stop if you won’t let it start?” emphasizes how important it is to let go of the past and allow oneself to have a chance at love.

The chorus also touches upon the notion that the person is struggling to build a relationship with someone who has a broken heart. Despite knowing that the love she has is something that only comes around once in a lifetime, she can’t seem to move past her experience and continues to lick her wounds. The repetition of the line “I love a girl with a broken heart” highlights how much the singer cares for this person, but also how difficult it is to have a relationship with someone who’s not fully available.

Overall, the song is a reminder that sometimes people need to take a chance on love and risk getting hurt, but the rewards of finding love again outweigh the risks.

Line by Line Meaning

You're hiding from love
You're avoiding love

You see, you don't need it
You think you don't need love

But if that were true
But that's not true

You could take it or leave it
You'd be able to accept or reject it

Well, you gotta learn to walk
You have to learn to progress

But you're afraid of fallin'
But you're scared of failing

Off the line like a shot
Without hesitation

Then it's back to crawling
But if you do fail, you'll return to where you started

How can it stop if you won't let it start?
How can love progress if you keep avoiding it?

I build it up and you tear it apart
I try to start a relationship, but you always sabotage it

It's so hard to love a girl with a broken heart
It's difficult to love someone who's been hurt so many times