In fact, in just six months, the band has played for more than 10,000 people, ridden in a van-with-trailer to shows all the way from Texas to Tennessee, from Colorado to New York, and sold out shows up and down the East Coast and through Texas. They've shared stages with the likes of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Del McCoury Band, The Waybacks, and The Duhks, and recorded a full-length album with producers John Rees and Bil Vorndick. When the band is home, members soak up other acts’ music, absorbing how music transmits energy from musician to listener, healing both — always learning, learning from the past but breathing their own interpretations into what they hear.
The Belleville Outfit came together when The DesChamps Band of Spartanburg, S.C., was offered a slot at Merlefest 2007. The former band of singer-songwriter-guitarist Rob Teter was no more, so he got former band-mate, singer-guitarist Marshall Hood, and vocalist-violinist Phoebe Hunt (who’s won Daniel Pearl Foundation honors) to New Orleans to meet drummer Jonathan Konya, pianist Connor Forsyth and upright bass player Jeff Brown. After two days of marathon rehearsals, the band was ready for its first shows together — complete with a sound that mixes members’ Appalachian roots and the traditional jazz of New Orleans, American swing, blues, country, soul and gypsy music.
Teter, Forsyth and Konya had been studying music at Loyola New Orleans for two years, and Hunt had earned a degree in history at the University of Texas at Austin while playing in a local folk trio, The Hudsons and learning to play the fiddle. Brown, a member of The DesChamps Band, had joined the military. Hood was playing gigs for Austin’s Toni Price and Warren Hood and the Hoodlums. But after Merlefest, they each decided to give the band their all. Its name (“belle ville” means beautiful town in French) honors New Orleans and the dramatic influence Hurricane Katrina had on the city and the Loyola trio. And “Belleville” is also Django Reinhardt song, which exemplifies a great portion of its sound.
The band’s debut album, WANDERIN’, was released on Feb. 5, 2008.
Sunday Morning
The Belleville Outfit Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That′s where he liked to watch the sun come up.
But darling Mrs. Day was sleeping in today,
Deciding that she'd leave the darkness be.
So I just slept in too, I had nothing else to do.
Glass figurines danced circles in my dreams.
Because what I once pursued leaves me cold and overdue.
On Sunday morning, I′m always missing you.
Where nothing happens anyway,
Just a day in the life of a full time fool.
Damned if I don't, but damned if I do,
On Sunday morning, I′m always missing you.
If I could dream it all away,
There would be nothing left to say.
I′d have it all; I'd be sixty-three feet tall.
Because what I once pursued,
Leaves me cold and overdue,
On Sunday morning, I′m always missing you.
The Belleville Outfit's song "Sunday Morning" is a melancholic track that speaks of the feeling of emptiness and longing for someone on a quiet Sunday morning. The opening lines describe how "keen Mr. Dark took a seat in the park" to watch the sunrise, but the singer's lover, "darling Mrs. Day," decides to sleep in instead. The singer admits that they too have nothing else to do and spends the morning dreaming of "glass figurines dancing circles" in a bittersweet moment of stillness.
The following verses delve into the deeper sense of dissatisfaction and yearning that the singer feels. They explain that "what I once pursued" now leaves them "cold and overdue." The repeated refrain of "On Sunday morning, I'm always missing you" emphasizes the intense loneliness and sense of loss that the singer feels. The lyrics highlight the difficulty of navigating life when one's heart is longing for a person or thing that is seemingly out of reach.
Overall, the song speaks to the universal human experience of feeling alone and longing for something more on a quiet Sunday morning, when the rest of the world seems to be at rest.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh keen Mr. Dark took a seat in the park,
The observant Mr. Dark sat down in the park as he usually did, to watch the sunrise.
That's where he liked to watch the sun come up.
He preferred watching the sunrise at the park.
But darling Mrs. Day was sleeping in today,
However, the beloved Mrs. Day decided to sleep in today.
Deciding that she'd leave the darkness be.
She made a choice to stay away from negativity.
So I just slept in too, I had nothing else to do.
As a result, the singer had no plans and ended up sleeping in as well.
Glass figurines danced circles in my dreams.
They dreamt of dancing figurines made of glass.
Because what I once pursued leaves me cold and overdue.
The singer has lost interest in what he used to pursue, which now feels like a neglected task.
On Sunday morning, I'm always missing you.
Every Sunday morning reminds them of the person they are missing.
And it's always worse on the days
The feeling of missing someone is heightened on the days
Where nothing happens anyway,
When there are already no significant events taking place.
Just a day in the life of a full-time fool.
It's just another day in the life of someone who is foolish and unsuccessful.
Damned if I don't, but damned if I do,
The singer feels cursed regardless of their choices.
On Sunday morning, I'm always missing you.
Every Sunday morning reminds them of the person they are missing.
If I could dream it all away,
The singer wishes they could forget everything.
There would be nothing left to say.
If that were the case, there would be no need for words.
I'd have it all; I'd be sixty-three feet tall.
If they could forget, they'd gain power and feel invincible.
Because what I once pursued,
Once again, the singer speaks of something they previously hoped to achieve.
Leaves me cold and overdue,
However, that goal now seems unattainable and long overdue.
On Sunday morning, I'm always missing you.
Despite these thoughts, Sunday morning is a reminder of the person they are missing.
Writer(s): Lou Reed, John Davies Cale
Contributed by Penelope B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.