Their debut album, Lemonade and Brownies, was released in 1995. It failed to produce a major hit. Their early work was strongly influenced by funk, punk, alternative rock and straight-up rhythm and blues, not a particularly fashionable combination at the time.
Sugar Ray's first mainstream hit came in the summer of 1997 with their song "Fly", which was released on the album Floored and featured notable reggae artist Super Cat. "Fly" was notable for not sounding anything at all like the rest of the tracks on the album and received frequent (some called it "constant") radio play. As a result of the success of "Fly", Floored sold extremely well and was certified double platinum. By the end of 1997, critics, skeptical that the band could put out another successful song, had labeled Sugar Ray as a one-hit wonder.
The band's sardonic reply to these accusations was given in the form of their 1999 album, 14:59; the album's title, with a "fame clock" reading 14:59, implied that their fifteen minutes of fame were not quite up. The song "Every Morning", which received widespread comparisons to "Fly", rose to similar success in late 1998, while their follow-up single, "Someday", received extensive airplay during 1999. This album, which outsold its predecessor and was certified triple platinum, proved that Sugar Ray was not a one-hit wonder after all. Though Sugar Ray was also set to play at Woodstock '99, they had to cancel due to illness.
Their 2001 self-titled album Sugar Ray produced another hit with "When It's Over" and reached the same level as their previous singles. Sugar Ray's 2003 effort In the Pursuit of Leisure, and the first single from that album, "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" received a lukewarm reception. In 2005, Sugar Ray released a greatest hits album, with two new songs, including the single "Shot of Laughter".
After a five year hiatus, Sugar Ray returned with Music For Cougars, reiterating the band’s signature sound. As ever, musical styles – from dancehall to disco, punk to pure pop – are mixed and matched, resulting in a collection that is distinctively Sugar Ray, including songs such as the first single, “Boardwalk,” and the Rivers Cuomo-penned “Love Is the Answer”. “I’m not going to say we made the best record of our career,” beams singer Mark McGrath. “That’s just so clichéd. But we did!”
Since their 1995 Lemonade And Brownies debut, Sugar Ray had become stuck in a biennial cycle of touring and recording, touring and recording. 1997’s RIAA double platinum-certified sophomore effort, Floored, and its follow-up, 1999’s triple platinum 14:59 were trailed by 2001’s self-titled collection and 2003’s In The Pursuit Of Leisure. By the release of 2005’s The Best Of Sugar Ray, the band had earned a break.
Having devoted themselves to the band since its 1986 inception as The Shrinky Dinks, each member took the time to explore new creative terrain – McGrath stayed in the spotlight as co-host of the nationally syndicated entertainment news program, Extra. Craig “DJ Homicide” Bullock relocated to Florida, where became a hugely in-demand club DJ; drummer Stan Frazier worked as a songwriter and A+R exec; bassist Murphy Karges became a video director; and guitarist Rodney Sheppard taught music to neighborhood kids. Perhaps more importantly, Sheppard, Karges, and Frazier started families, with all living within a two mile radius from one another in their hometown of Newport Beach. “It was just the natural course to sort of lay back for a while,” Sheppard says, “We had a good run up to that time and we’d gotten to the point where we welcomed a break. It just ended up being a bit longer than we thought.”
Sugar Ray was quite active during their hiatus, busting out hits at private corporate events, county fairs, and countless summer festivals. By 2008, the band was itching to get back into the studio. In July, McGrath left Extra in order to devote more of his time to Sugar Ray. At the same time, the band’s longtime friend, producer Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park), invited them to cut a new album for his just-launched label, Pulse Recordings. “All the stars lined up for us,” Sheppard says. “We always said we would never force ourselves back on the public, but everything just fell together nicely. It was an opportunity for us to make some new music again so we grabbed it.” With Abraham at the helm, the band immediately set to work at the producer’s Pulse Recordings in Los Angeles. The producer pushed the band to reach down deep and refine their songwriting, penned, as ever, in various combinations of band members.
Perhaps more importantly, Abraham hooked Sugar Ray up with Pulse in-house producer/songwriter Luke Walker (The Deftones, Alkaline Trio, Filter, Elliot Yamin, and From First to Last), whom the band enthusiastically credits for helping to both energize and focus the album. “The guy’s a genius,” McGrath enthuses. “He’s an amazing songwriter and he really infused a new attitude, a new creativity, a new way to get songs done and get ‘em done quickly. Luke is the MVP of the whole project.” “We really clicked with Luke,” Sheppard says, “separately and together. A lot of time in the past, the band would come up with a song and get it three-quarters of the way there. With Luke, we were able to realize all our ideas. He was an important ingredient in the song-crafting.”
The sessions spanned close to a year, a leisurely process that enabled Sugar Ray to take their time with both songs and sonics. “Being the underdog again really frees up your creativity,” McGrath explains. “We had so much fun making the record. There was no pressure. It was purely about the love of songwriting and getting into the studio.”
Music For Cougars sees the band ping-ponging though pop’s innumerable permutations. “Love 101” is classic El Lay harmony pop a la Ricky Nelson, while “She’s Got The…” recalls the days when rock giants like Kiss and the Kinks dared to dip a toe into disco’s forbidden waters. Elsewhere, the band displays their mastery of cross-pollinated island rhythms and raps with the delightful “Girls Were Made To Love.” The track – built upon a sample from the 1962 hit, “(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made To Love,” written by Phil Everly and performed by child star Eddie Hodges – was an instant favorite among the bandmates, though they all sensed it needed something more to push it into classic status. McGrath suggested reaching out to Bermuda-based dancehall star Collie Buddz. The band sent the unfinished track to their friend Native Wayne, host of Indie 103.1’s “Native Wayne’s Reggae Smoke-In,” and within days, Buddz had promised to record his parts at the next earliest convenience. True to his word, Collie spent an April afternoon at Pulse, laying down his rapid-fire rhymes. “It’s amazing that when you reach out to people they sometimes actually say yes,” Sheppard says, “To have him on the record, it’s an honor. I think it’s the best song on the record now. The guy just came through big time.” “It’s something people would expect to hear from us,” McGrath says of the track, “but updated. I know there are people who are gonna say, ‘Oh great, Sugar Ray is doing dancehall again. Whatever.’ But to me, you can never have enough songs that sound like ‘Fly.’”
Sugar Ray has always reveled in teaming with fellow artists spanning a wide swath of genres, counting hip-hop heroes like Run DMC and KRS-One, reggae/dancehall superstars Shaggy and Super Cat, alternative rock musician Nick Hexum from 311, and pop royalty The Wilson Sisters. Along with the aforementioned Collie Buddz, Music For Cougars features a number of new alliances, including “Going Nowhere,” co-written with Tim Pagnotta of Sugarcult, and “Dance Like No One's Watchin',” a collaboration with surfing singer/songwriter Donavon Frankenreiter – an old friend of the band’s and Sheppard’s cousin by marriage. Perhaps the album’s most striking partnership is “Love Is The Answer,” an original song gifted to the band by Weezer honcho Rivers Cuomo.
Sugar Ray can claim credit for some of the most indelible pop hits of the previous decade, including the unforgettable #1 smashes, “Fly” and “Every Morning”. McGrath is proud of the band’s body of work. “I’ll be self-deprecating about myself and about the band,” he says, “but we wrote some fucking amazing songs. We wrote songs that people fell in love to, that people got married to, that people had sex to for the first time. The songs became bigger than the band. They’re the world’s property now and we need to be humbled by that.”
Sugar Ray are now getting set to take their classic songs – both new and old – on the road for their first full-scale tour in years. Music For Cougars allows the band to live up to its mission statement from the very beginning – to hang out together and make high-energy rock ‘n’ roll. “We have no misconceptions about what this record may do,” McGrath says. “It was strictly about making another record because we had great new material and the fact that we still enjoy playing together. “This is my life’s work,” he notes. “People say, ‘You’re still in the band?’ This is what I do! I’m gonna be in Sugar Ray till I die! I’ve been lucky enough to fit a uniform, I’m gonna wear it till the wheels fall off!”
Ours
Sugar Ray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Chorus]
She was your woman, but she was my girl
One on one, the queen of two worlds
She was your woman, but she was my girl
That would make her ours
Mm hm
I met a girl
She had another
But I didn't know
The music was hella banging
On the stereo
A latte later, she said Yes
Grabbed me by the hands, much respect
Bounce to bounce came with what I came to get,
(yeah this is how the story goes) mm?
Chorus
She was your woman, but she was my girl
One on one, the queen of two worlds
She was your woman, but she was my girl
That would make her ours
Mm hm
Next thing I know, she's with my sister
Talking to my mother, about the other
Is my girlie at home
Or is she with another
Another another another another
Tell me if you've seen him my brotha
A menage-a-three's not hard to see till then
Don't try to put me on hold
Shut up the situation
Like a Springer episode
Shut the door baby
Don't say a word
She was your woman, but she was my girl
One on one, the queen of two worlds
That would make her ours
Mm hm
She's ours mm hm
Dark blue skies
Over deep waters
You're drowning in a world of blue
Never taking time to separate the two
Both of 'em goin' crazy over you
One's your lover, the other's your man
Put them together
They wouldn't understand
She's mine
But you can have her
She's yours
I already had her
She's mine?
She was your woman, but she was my girl
One on one, the queen of two worlds
[Chorus: x2]
The lyrics to Sugar Ray’s “Ours” offer a complex portrayal of the love triangle involving the singer, another man, and a woman. The song speaks to the complicated nature of relationships and the way in which individuals can belong to multiple people at the same time. The chorus repeats the phrase “She was your woman, but she was my girl/One on one, the queen of two worlds/That would make her ours,” encapsulating the central tension of the song.
The verses offer additional insight into the situation, with the singer meeting a girl who is already involved with another man. Despite this, he continues to pursue her and eventually engages in a sexual encounter with her. The lyrics suggest that he is aware of the woman’s other relationship, but chooses to ignore it. Later on, the singer discovers that the woman in question has also been involved with his sister, which creates additional tension within his family. The second-to-last verse offers a poignant reflection on the ambivalent nature of the situation, with the singer stating “She’s mine/But you can have her/She’s yours/I already had her/She’s mine?”
Overall, “Ours” offers a nuanced portrayal of a complicated love triangle. The lyrics explore the idea that individuals can belong to multiple people simultaneously and grapple with the emotional fallout of such a situation. The song’s repetition of the chorus emphasizes the central tension of the situation and underscores the complexity of human relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
She was your woman, but she was my girl
We both had a relationship with her, but you had the official title while I was the one she really cared for.
One on one, the queen of two worlds
She played two different roles, being with you in public but being herself with me.
That would make her ours Mm hm
Despite having different relationships with her, we both shared her love, and she was with both of us emotionally.
I met a girl She had another But I didn't know The music was hella banging On the stereo A latte later, she said Yes Grabbed me by the hands, much respect Bounce to bounce came with what I came to get, (yeah this is how the story goes) mm?
I met her while she was still with you, but I didn't know about it. After a while, she agreed to be with me while respecting both of our emotions.
Next thing I know, she's with my sister Talking to my mother, about the other Is my girlie at home Or is she with another Another another another another Tell me if you've seen him my brotha
I found out she's been moving around with other people, including my own sister, and I'm not sure where she is now.
A menage-a-three's not hard to see till then Don't try to put me on hold Shut up the situation Like a Springer episode Shut the door baby Don't say a word
We both knew this wasn't going to be a normal relationship, but let's not make it more complicated than it already is. Let's keep it quiet, simple, and move on.
Dark blue skies Over deep waters You're drowning in a world of blue Never taking time to separate the two Both of 'em goin' crazy over you One's your lover, the other's your man Put them together They wouldn't understand
Your relationship with her is like drowning in deep waters. You never took the time to figure out what you really want between us. You were being loved by two different people, but you cannot put them together because they wouldn't fit.
She's mine But you can have her She's yours I already had her She's mine?
We both had our own relationship with her, but in the end, she's now with one of us. She was just passing by our lives and left a mark in our emotions.
She was your woman, but she was my girl One on one, the queen of two worlds That would make her ours Mm hm She's ours mm hm
At the end of the day, she belonged to both of us, and we shared her love, making her ours in both ways.
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ADRIAN L. MILLER, CHARLES STANTON FRAZIER, CRAIG BULLOCK, CRAIG ANTHONY BULLOCK, KELSEY LEVON MAXWELL, MARK MCGRATH, MARK SAYERS MCGRATH, MATTHEW MURPHY KARGES, MURPHY KARGES, RODNEY SHEPPARD, STAN FRAZIER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
blachubear
One of my favorite tracks off this album, the other is "Just A Little".
Tairy Hesticles
Ahhhh, so good. This is my childhood right here!
Abel Alvarez
Tairy Hesticles great song!!
Caleb Bartlett
I always wondered what song they were jamming to at the beginning of When It's Over music video, guess I found it!!
19941201
when it's over brought me here too. :)
Caleb Bartlett
such a good tune!!
Caleb Bartlett
***** lol it's awesome when music does that to you :P
bellefire17z
haha me too
Joseph Galati
Same. Feels a little over produced if ya ask me. Was hoping for something a little different..
Fritz Robert Herrmann
Underrated indeed!
i can only agree