Sugarland is an Atlanta, Georgia country music duo composed of singer-songw… Read Full Bio ↴Sugarland is an Atlanta, Georgia country music duo composed of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (background vocals, lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar). Sugarland was founded in 2003 by Bush and Kristen Hall (acoustic guitar, background vocals), and became a trio when Jennifer Nettles was brought in as lead singer. Sugarland was signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 2004.

Sugarland's debut album, Twice the Speed of Life, was released Oct. 26, 2004. Serving as its lead-off single was the song Baby Girl, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and set a record for the longest chart run since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990. It was also the highest-peaking debut single for a group in 13 years. The album received Multi-Platinum certification for sales of two million copies. This album produced three more chart singles Something More, Just Might (Make Me Believe), and Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good).

In late 2005, the duo performed with Bon Jovi on Country Music Television's musical fusion show, Crossroads. Nettles sang with Bon Jovi on their single Who Says You Can't Go Home. The song later went on to become a #1 hit on the country charts.

Kristen Hall left the group in late 2005/early 2006. According to a statment released on January 17, 2006 by Nettles and Bush, Hall left the group to "stay home and write songs."

Sugarland was nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy and performed the song Something More at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2006. They also performed at the 2006 CMT Music Awards, where they received multiple nominations including Group/Duo Video of the Year for Just Might (Make Me Believe), Breakthrough Video of the Year for Something More, and Collaborative Video of the Year for "Who Says You Can't Go Home".

On November 7, 2006, the new duo released their second album Enjoy the Ride. It sold 211,000 during its first week and opened at #4 on the US Top 200 and at #2 on the Top Country Albums charts. The first two singles from this album — Want To and Settlin — both reached Number One on the country music charts, while Everyday America and Stay were both Top Ten hits. A limited edition of the CD, sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, was released in late 2007 and included a 5-song Christmas EP. The EP contained one original song - Little Wood Guitar - written by Bush and Ellis Paul.

In 2007, Sugarland performed at multiple award ceremonies, including the 2007 CMT Awards and the 2007 ACM awards. They performed a cover of Beyoncé Knowles' "Irreplaceable" at the American Music Awards, with Knowles herself. They also appeared on the The Tonight Show, and late in the year they headlined their first concert tour: the Change for Change Tour along with opening acts Little Big Town and Jake Owen. At the 41st CMA Awards, the group won the award for Vocal Duo of the Year.

In February 2007 Nettles and Bush began recording Love on the Inside as a follow up to Enjoy the Ride. The album was released in late July. Leading off this album was All I Want to Do. Released on May 19, the song debuted at #27 on the country charts, the highest debut for the duo. It became their third Number One single in August 2008. Already Gone followed in September of the same year and in January 2009 became their fourth Billboard Number One.

The "Deluxe Fan Edition" of Love on the Inside was released on July 22, 2008. The fan edition includes the duo's collaboration with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, a cover of The Dream Academy's 1985 hit "Life in a Northern Town." It also introduces four other bonus tracks, including "Fall Into Me," "Operation: Working Vacation," "Wishing," and a cover of Matt Nathanson's "Come On Get Higher."

The duo is starting the Love on the Inside Tour on September 13 in Asheville, North Carolina and it will conclude after 25 performances on November 16 in Bossier City, Louisiana. They will be joined by special guests Ashton Shepherd and Kellie Pickler. It will be their second headlining tour.
In March 2009, Sugarland toured in Europe starting with performances at military stations in Italy. They were scheduled to perform in France, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Later in 2009 they joined Keith Urban in select cities as part of his Escape Together World Tour and joined Kenny Chesney on his Sun City Carnival Tour.
The third single from Love on the Inside, and 11th single overall, "It Happens", was released in February 2009 and became their fifth #1 in May 2009. The album's fourth single, "Joey" is a warning about drunkdriving, encouraging those sober to "take the keys," and thematically is heavily influenced by Concrete Blonde's 1990 single of the same name. It peaked at #17 on the US country charts.

On May 19, 2009, Sugarland received five CMT Award nominations including a nomination for Video of the Year. They were presented the award for Video Duo of the Year at the award show that broadcasted on June 16, 2009. During the awards show, they also performed "Love Shack" with a surprise appearance by the B-52's.
On September 10, 2010, Sugarland appeared on The Today Show and performed "Stuck Like Glue" - the first single from their album The Incredible Machine, which was released on October 19, 2010 in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. The album was released in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2011.
It was announced on January 11, 2011 that Sugarland was the #5 selling country album of 2010 with The Incredible Machine and the #3 selling digital country track of 2010 with their single "Stuck Like Glue".
On April 3, 2011 Sugarland hosted and performed at the first annual ACM Fan Jam during the ACM awards show. Sugarland was nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year and Video of the Year for "Stuck Like Glue", and won for Vocal Duo of the Year at the 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Nettles performed alongside pop star Rihanna at the ceremony, performing "California King Bed".

"Tonight" is the second single released in the U.K. from The Incredible Machine as well as the third country radio single, released April 11.

In April 2011, Sugarland began their own radio station, which was launched by A.P.E. Radio. The station is programmed by Nettles and Bush, and gives fans the opportunity to hear experiences from both singers' lives and from their current musical endeavours.

The duo appeared at the 2011 CMT Music Awards, winning for "Duo Video of the Year" but losing to Taylor Swift's "Mine" for video of the year. They also performed their donation song "Stand Up"

Life In A Northern Town
Sugarland Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A Salvation Army band played
And the children drank lemonade
And the morning lasted all day, all day
And through an open window came
Like Sinatra in a younger day
Pushing the town away, away

Heya ma ma ma, into the night

Hey ma ma ma, hey, ah
Life in a northern town
Ah hey ma ma ma ma

They sat on the stony ground
And he took a cigarette out
And everyone else came down to listen
It was the winter 1963
It felt like the world would freeze
With John F. Kennedy and the Beatles, yeah, yeah

Heya ma ma ma, into the night
Hey ma ma ma, hey, ah
Life in a northern town
Ah hey ma ma ma ma

Heya ma ma ma, into the night
Hey ma ma ma, hey, ah
Life in a northern town
Ah hey ma ma ma ma

The evening had turned to rain
Watched the water roll down the drain
As they followed them down... to the station
And he would never wave goodbye
You could see it written in his eyes
As the train pulled out of sight, right by

Ah-heya ma ma ma, into the night-ahh
Heya ma ma ma, hey-ay-ay-ay, ah
Life in a northern town
Ah-hey ma ma ma, take it easy on yourselves
Ah-heya ma ma ma, into the night-ahh
Heya ma ma ma, hey-ay-ay-ay, ah
Life in a northern town
Ah hey ma ma ma ma
Ah-heya ma ma ma, into the night-ahh
Heya ma ma ma, hey-ay-ay-ay, ah
Life in a northern town
Ah hey ma ma ma ma
Ah-heya ma ma ma, into the night-ahh
Hey ma ma ma, hey-ay-ay-ay, ah

Life in a northern town
Ah hey ma ma ma ma

Overall Meaning

The song "Life in a Northern Town" by Sugarland/Little Big Town depicts life in a small, northern town during the winter of 1963. The song begins with a Salvation Army band playing and children drinking lemonade, with the morning lasting all day. This imagery sets up the feeling of timelessness and simplicity that often comes with small-town living. As the song progresses, we are introduced to a mysterious figure who pushes the town away "like Sinatra in a younger day." This line could refer to a wandering minstrel who comes and goes as he pleases, or it could symbolize the desire to escape the monotony of small-town life.

Next, we are introduced to a group of people sitting on the stony ground, listening to someone take out a cigarette and play music. The mention of John F. Kennedy and The Beatles adds some historical context to the narrative, reminding us of the events that were happening in the world at the time. As the music fades and the rain starts to fall, we are taken to the train station. The man who took out the cigarette is leaving, and he will never wave goodbye. This moment is bittersweet and poignant, as it speaks to the impermanence of life and the fleeting nature of relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

A Salvation Army band played
The Salvation Army band played music.

And the children drank lemonade
Children drank lemonade.

And the morning lasted all day, all day
The morning seemed to last forever.

And through an open window came
Came through an open window.

Like Sinatra in a younger day
Like Frank Sinatra in his younger years.

Pushing the town away, away
Seeming to push the town away.

Heya ma ma ma, into the night
Interjection expressing excitement.

They sat on the stony ground
Sat on the hard, rocky ground.

And he took a cigarette out
He took out a cigarette.

And everyone else came down to listen
Others came to listen too.

It was the winter 1963
The year was 1963 and it was winter.