The Neville Brothers was an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1977 in… Read Full Bio ↴The Neville Brothers was an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The group formally disbanded in 2012 but reunited in 2015 for a farewell concert in New Orleans.

The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937-2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1941), and Cyril (b. 1948) got together to take part in the recording session of The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras Indian group led by the Nevilles' uncle, George Landry ("Big Chief Jolly").

Art Neville reached out to Paul Howrilla (personal manager for Dr. John) and told him that he always wanted to do something with his brothers. Paul Howrilla created Neville Productions, Inc., serving as president and CEO with all four Neville brothers as members of the board of directors. The newly formed business covered the entire Neville family, designed to protect them from the music business abuse they had previously endured in their individual careers.

This experience led them to form the group the following year. Their debut album was released from Capitol Records in 1978.

In 1988, the group released Uptown from EMI featuring guests including Branford Marsalis, Keith Richards, and Carlos Santana. The following year saw the release of Yellow Moon from A&M Records produced by Daniel Lanois. The track "Healing Chant" from that album won best pop instrumental performance of the Grammy Awards.

In 1990, the Neville Brothers contributed "In the Still of the Night" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization. Also in 1990, they appeared on the bill at that year's Glastonbury Festival. This also was the year they recorded "Sons and Daughters" on their Brother's Keeper album.

Their version of "Bird on the Wire" was played over the closing credits of the 1990 film, Bird on a Wire.

Due to the health problems of Art Neville, the band kept a low profile in the late 1990s onto the early 2000s. They made a comeback in 2004, however, with the album, Walkin' In The Shadow Of Life, from Back Porch Records, their first newly recorded effort in five years.

All brothers except Charles, a Massachusetts resident, had been living in New Orleans, but following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Cyril and Aaron moved out of the city. They had not been performing in New Orleans since Katrina hit the city, however, they finally returned to perform there at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008, being given the closing spot which had been reserved for them for years.

Infrequently, Ivan Neville, Aaron's son (keyboards) and Ian Neville, Art's son (electric guitar), both of the band Dumpstaphunk, have played with the band in recent years.

The group formally disbanded in 2012 but reunited in 2015 for a farewell concert in New Orleans.

Charles Neville died of pancreatic cancer on April 26, 2018, at the age of 79.

Art Neville died at age 81 on July 22, 2019, after years of declining health.

Fire and Brimstone
The Neville Brothers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I had a dream last night
While I was lyin' on my bed
The world was standin' still
And the moon was turnin' red

I saw a sign in the sky
I have come to set you free
There's a light shinin' bright

Shinin' down, down on me

(Chorus)
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head

I saw life, I heard a voice sayin' come to me
I heard a rumblin' beneath my feet
And a whole world was shakin' free
I came to dark and still
And in the dark I could see

(Chorus)
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head

I turned around, I saw ice,
I heard a voice sayin' come to me
I saw the sun standin' still
Everything was dark
But I could see

(Chorus)
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down

On my head
…

Overall Meaning

Fire and Brimstone by The Neville Brothers is a song that describes a vivid dream that the singer had while lying on his bed. The dream consists of imagery that symbolizes the end of the world, where the moon turns red, and the world stands still. The singer sees a sign in the sky telling him that he has come to set them free, and a bright light shining down on him. However, the tone of the song changes as the singer describes the tumultuous events that occur in his dream.

The song takes a darker turn, as the singer sees fire, fire and brimstone coming down on his head. He then hears a voice calling his name, and the ground begins to shake as the world is in chaos. Suddenly, he is standing in the darkness, and he can see everything clearly. As the dream continues, he turns to see ice and hears the same voice calling his name. The sun stands still, and the world is dark, but he can still see.

The lyrics of Fire and Brimstone seem to suggest an impending apocalypse or an end of the world scenario. The imagery of fire, brimstone, ice, and the sun standing still are all symbolic of an event that would bring about the end of everything. The song could also be interpreted as a warning to humanity about the consequences of their actions and the need to change their ways before it's too late.

Line by Line Meaning

I had a dream last night
The singer had a dream while they were sleeping.

While I was lyin' on my bed
The singer was in bed when they had the dream.

The world was standin' still
In the dream world, everything was stationary.

And the moon was turnin' red
During the dream, the moon was changing color.

I saw a sign in the sky
The artist witnessed a symbol in the sky.

I have come to set you free
The sign in the sky communicated a message of liberation.

There's a light shinin' bright
A bright light shone down from the sky.

Shinin' down, down on me
The light was illuminating the artist.

I saw life, I heard a voice sayin' come to me
The dream continued with a voice beckoning the artist towards it.

I heard a rumblin' beneath my feet
The earth began to vibrate in the dream world.

And a whole world was shakin' free
The earthquake was so powerful that it freed everything around it.

I came to dark and still
The environment shifted, and it became dark and quiet.

And in the dark I could see
Despite the lack of light, the singer was still able to see.

I turned around, I saw ice
The singer looked around and saw a landscape of ice.

I saw the sun standin' still
The sun was motionless in the sky.

Everything was dark
Despite the presence of the sun, the world was still dark.

But I could see
The artist was still able to perceive their surroundings.

I saw fire, Fire and brimstone comin' down On my head
In the dream, the singer witnessed a deadly volcanic eruption raining down upon them, symbolizing the end of all things.

Chorus
Refrain of the song.

Contributed by Jordyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS

Genre not found

Artist not found

Album not found

Search results not found

Song not found

Most interesting comment from YouTube:

johnny zell

4y↑2

I had a dream last night
While I was lyin' on my bed
The world was standin' still
And the moon was turnin' red

I saw a sign in the sky
I have come to set you free
There's a light shinin' bright
Shinin' down, down on me

[Chorus:]
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head

I saw life, I heard a voice sayin' come to me
I heard a rumblin' beneath my feet
And a whole world was shakin' free
I came to dark and still
And in the dark I could see

[Chorus:]
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head

I turned around, I saw ice,
I heard a voice sayin' come to me
I saw the sun standin' still
Everything was dark
But I could see

[Chorus:]
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head
I saw fire,
Fire and brimstone comin' down
On my head
...