Ryan Adams (born David Ryan Adams on November 5, 1974) is an alt-country an… Read Full Bio ↴Ryan Adams (born David Ryan Adams on November 5, 1974) is an alt-country and rock and roll songwriter and singer from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, which was at the time considered one of the leaders of the alt-country genre, Adams left the band and released his first solo album, Heartbreaker, in 2000 (which was subsequently nominated for the Shortlist Music Prize). As well as his solo albums, Adams has released five albums as Ryan Adams & the Cardinals.

Adams dropped out of high school at age 16 to work in a shoe shop and make music. He formed a band named Whiskeytown in 1994; they disbanded in 1999 having released two full albums, Faithless Street and Strangers Almanac. Adams went on to put out his first solo record, Heartbreaker, in 2000. After a long delay, in 2001 Whiskeytown's third album Pneumonia was finally issued.

In 2002, Ryan contributed backing vocals on Butterfly in Reverse, from the Counting Crows album, Hard Candy; after Adam Duritz (Counting Crows lead singer) appeared on the album Gold.

Ryan is highly prolific, and in 2005 released one double album and two regular albums: Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights and 29, respectively. His album, 29, was produced by friend Ethan Johns (who also produced his first two albums, Heartbreaker and Gold). In between those two releases and his 2005 triple-header, Ryan released Demolition (a collection of out-takes), Love Is Hell and Rock N Roll. Unreleased studio albums include 48 Hours, Exile On Franklin Street and Suicide Handbook.

In addition, Adams worked with Jesse Malin to form the punk-rock group The Finger (under the pseudonyms, "Warren Peace" and "Irving Plaza" respectively), who released two E.P.s which were collected together to form We Are Fuck You, released on One Little Indian Records in 2003.

In 2006 Ryan went on a minor UK-tour and a minor US-tour along the west-coast and has streamed 11+ mini albums on his website, under numerous jokey pseudonyms (DJ Reggie, Werewolph, The Shit, Rhoda Ro, Ghetto Birds).

The following solo record, entitled Easy Tiger, was released on June 26, 2007. The newest and last record with his backing band The Cardinals, Cardinology, was released in October 2008 and followed by extensive touring through the UK, US and Australia.

In January 2009 he announced that he would be going on an indefinite hiatus from music. The Kindness Songfacts reports that the major reason for Adams’ temporary retirement was his struggles with Ménière’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear that wrecks havoc on hearing and balance. Adams resumed performing in October 2010, and released his thirteenth studio album, Ashes & Fire, on October 11, 2011. His now ex-wife, pop singer and actress Mandy Moore, contributed some backing vocals.

Tennessee Sucks
Ryan Adams Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There you go
Waving your arms like a girl
Suckin' down your cloves
Don't worry, nobody knows

Somebody order my round
'Cause I'm getting by
With a twelve pack from 12th & Porter with Billy

4:30 a.m. at night

'Cause Tennessee sucks, in the summer
What do you got that can put us under?

There goes Johnny B.
Weird and tall
He says The band, they've got good songs,
They just don't draw

Somebody order my round
Chances are I won't pay
Hey Brad, let's go down to The Bound'ry
Get something blue to put us out of our way

'Cause Tennessee sucks, in the summer
What do you got that can put us under?

Overall Meaning

The song "Tennessee Sucks" by Ryan Adams is a commentary on living in Nashville and the music scene. The opening line, "There you go waving your arms like a girl / Suckin' down your cloves / Don't worry, nobody knows," sets the tone of the song, which is one of frustration, angst, and dissatisfaction with the status quo. The singer's observation is almost mocking, suggesting that the person in question is trying too hard to fit in or be noticed.

The lyrics that follow are more introspective, reflecting on the singer's own struggles to make it in the music scene. The line "Somebody order my round / 'Cause I'm getting by / With a twelve pack from 12th & Porter with Billy / 4:30 a.m. at night" hints at the singer's reliance on alcohol to get through the difficult times, and the specific mention of 12th & Porter, a music venue in Nashville, suggests that the singer is a struggling musician himself.

The chorus, "Cause Tennessee sucks, in the summer / What do you got that can put us under?" speaks to the unbearable heat and humidity that Nashville experiences in the summertime, but also suggests a broader sense of ennui and dissatisfaction with the music scene and life in general. The lines that follow, "There goes Johnny B. / Weird and tall / He says The band, they've got good songs, / They just don't draw," reinforce this sense of frustration, with the singer observing a talented musician who is struggling to make it in the industry.

Line by Line Meaning

There you go
You are acting in a dramatic way.

Waving your arms like a girl
You are throwing your arms around in a stereotypically feminine way.

Suckin' down your cloves
You are smoking cloves, which nobody likes.

Don't worry, nobody knows
It doesn't matter if you smoke cloves because nobody knows.

Somebody order my round
Can someone buy me a drink?

'Cause I'm getting by
I am able to continue with my current lifestyle.

With a twelve pack from 12th & Porter with Billy
I am relying on alcohol to get through.

4:30 a.m. at night
It is late at night.

'Cause Tennessee sucks, in the summer
I dislike Tennessee during the summer.

What do you got that can put us under?
What is there to do to forget our dislike of Tennessee in the summer?

There goes Johnny B.
Johnny B. is leaving.