The group originally formed in 1985, playing its first gigs in Dallas's Deep Ellum neighborhood. Its current members are Jim "Reverend Horton" Heath on guitar and lead vocals, Jimbo Wallace on the upright bass, and Scott Churilla on drums. Through relentless touring and a manic stage show, they have established themselves as one of the most popular underground acts in America. Their sound is self described as "Country-fed punkabilly." Their music is a mixture of country, punk, big band, swing, and rockabilly, all played loud and energetically with lyrics that are often very humorous.
Jim Heath played in a cover band called Southern Comfort with friends from Corpus Christi Ray, his high school, before attending the University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 1977. At UT, he often entertained friends and dormmates and was often found playing in the stairwells at Moore-Hill Dormitory late into the night to avoid disturbing the sleep of roommate Harold Shockley, now a Corpus Christi banker. Jim left school in the spring to join up with a touring cover band by the name of Sweetbriar. Three years later, former dormmate David Livingston, now in his senior year of school and at home visiting family, saw a familiar face on stage and reunited with Jim. David told Jim stories of the punk music scene in Austin and the acts playing at venues like Raul's and Club Foot. Once, while home on another visit, David took Jim to a Dallas rock and roll venue, The Bijou, to see an act called The Cramps. After the show, there broke out a punks vs. rockers brawl in the parking lot. While Jim and David escaped any involvement in the scuffle, Jim later claimed to have had an epiphany on that evening. Always a fan of blues and honky tonk, Jim returned the favor by taking David and his wife, Ellen, to see The Blasters in Dallas at a venue known as the Hot Klub and Jim's love for roots rock took over from there.
Jim had married a former bandmate from Sweetbriar, and together they had a child. Together they decided that the rock-and-roll lifestyle was over and that it was time to have real jobs. Around 1985, Jim was known as "Jim the Sound Guy" by those who frequented two warehouses that by night became music venues, Theater Gallery and The Prophet Bar. Jim used the old Sweetbriar PA system to earn from $20-$50 per night for extra money, running sound for bands such as the New Bohemians, End Over End, Shallow Reign and Three On A Hill. One night during a lull, Russell Hobbs, one of the original Deep Ellum visionaries and proprietors of these venues goaded Jim into getting up to play. He played alone, tearing through a version of "Folsom Prison Blues" that is now so familiar to millions of Reverend Horton Heat fans around the world. Throughout the song, Hobbs hooted and shouted out, "Go Reverend". Jim decided then and there to form a band and came up with the name Reverend Horton Heat, as an ode to Johnny Horton, using the shortened version of his last name, Heath. The late nights and the fact the Jim was now playing in a band and his wife and former bandmate was not took its toll on the marriage and she soon left with their child and dog. Jim's feelings upon the loss of his family are well documented in the song, "Where In The Hell Did You go With My Toothbrush?". The Jimi Hendrix poster mentioned in the song was on the back of a door that Jim used for a practice room in the house he shared with his wife and child. The dog's name really was Smokey.
About this time, David and Ellen moved back from Oklahoma City, where they had been since graduating from UT. David began to book gigs for Jim and his new band, and their refeshing sound and raw live performance quickly won over the local music scene. Jim drew crowds to brand new music venues, playing three nights a week at Froggy Bottoms in the then brand new West End and assured a quick start to Club Dada, the first "for profit" bar in Deep Ellum by playing every night for the first two weeks that it was open. David continued to work with Reverend Horton Heat until 1989, when his own new family and day job required all of his attention, and Jim needed a real manager who could get him out on the road and into the studio. Jim and David remain close friends today, and a song that they co-wrote together back in the '80s, "Liquor, Beer and Wine", appeared on 1994's "Liquor In The Front".
Check out the [url=http://[officialsite]www.victorymerch.com/store/reverendhortonheat]Reverend Horton Heat merch store.
This artist is also on Last.fm as: 'The Reverend Horton Heat'
Galaxy 500
Reverend Horton Heat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll take the Galaxy 500
You get the cat
I get the cats you don't want anymore
You take the fish
I'll take the bowl
You take the dishes
But things ain't so bad
Cause I got a galaxy 500
You get the house
I get a cheap motel room
You get a friend
But that should not matter to me anymore
You have a date he's just a friend
I can't believe that this is the end
But things ain't so bad
Cause I got a Galaxy 500
Galaxy 500 in a Galaxy 500
Galaxy 500
I'm in my own galaxy 1973
In my own galaxy
You probably would have wanted this too
But it's not air conditioned
No it's not air conditioned
No it's not air conditioned
No it's not air conditioned
It's not air conditioned
Open the trunk
All of my dirty laundry
All of my junk in the yard
And scattered out into the street
You have the thing with my old guitar
I can't believe that you took it this far
But things ain't so bad
Cause I got a Galaxy 500
Galaxy 500
In a Galaxy 500
Galaxy 500
In a galaxy 500
The lyrics of Reverend Horton Heat's song "Galaxy 500" depict a break up between the two protagonists which implies that they have been together for a long time and now are parting ways, dividing their material possessions. The opening lines of the lyrics suggest that the two are dividing their pets, the dog going to one and the cat going to the other. They go on to divide other belongings which seemingly cause no friction between them, while the singer takes solace in his Galaxy 500. The car is most probably his prized possession, and he finds comfort in the fact that he can drive away from his situation in it.
Line by Line Meaning
You take the dog
I'll let you keep the dog
I'll take the Galaxy 500
But I'm keeping the car
You get the cat
I'll let you keep the cat
I get the cats you don't want anymore
I'll take care of any other unwanted cats
You take the fish
I'll let you keep the fish
I'll take the bowl
But I'm keeping the fishbowl
You take the dishes
You can have the dishes
While you're at it take my soul
You can have my soul too
But things ain't so bad
Despite all this, I'm not too upset
Cause I got a galaxy 500
Because I still have my car
You get the house
You keep the house
I get a cheap motel room
I'll find somewhere else to live
You get a friend
You can have your new friend
But that should not matter to me anymore
But I don't care about that anymore
You have a date he's just a friend
You're going out with another guy, but it's not serious
I can't believe that this is the end
I'm having trouble accepting that our relationship is over
In my own galaxy 1973
But I'm finding comfort in my car, like in the year 1973
You probably would have wanted this too
You may have wanted the car too
But it's not air conditioned
But it's not perfect
No it's not air conditioned
It doesn't have air conditioning
Open the trunk
Please open the trunk of the car
All of my dirty laundry
I have some dirty laundry back there
All of my junk in the yard
And some junk in the yard too
And scattered out into the street
I've even left some stuff in the street
You have the thing with my old guitar
You took my old guitar when you left
But things ain't so bad
But I'm still okay
Galaxy 500
I'm still grateful for my car
In a Galaxy 500
Inside my car, everything's okay
Galaxy 500
Thank god for my car
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris L
The Reverend is hands down one of the best guitar players.
electric fil
@The Gnome He's playing tonight in Fresno California. I'll be there. 🤘💣
The Gnome
Love this lineup, can’t wait to catch them this summer!
The Gnome
Love ‘em.
Frank Rizzo
Yeah man have to agree
Trainy
And he never misses a note. Dude is a virtuoso.
colin little
I’m 56 years old and have only just discovered this genius, Christ I have wasted so much time listening to shite it is time to repent, reverend you have saved me 🎸🎸🤟
Franklin Vaugn
Saw him at Old Ironsides in Sacramento in 1990. That was it. I was hooked. Bought every album ever since. But as every fan will tell you, your have to see him live.
Trainy
You've been born again my son
Red Step-Child
@Joshua Dowling nah. Just like the music. I embarrassed him the 1 time I met him. Remind me tomorrow & I'll send you pictures of my favorite concert T