| Dave Matthews Band – Crash Into Me Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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I'm surprised to see that almost everybody seems to believe that this song is about something so specific as literally peeping a woman through her window. This song is about Dave asking his listeners, one listener at a time, to open up to him and "show your world to [him]", to "touch your lips just so [he] knows that in your eyes, love it glows"..., etc. "touch your lips" could be interpreted as "enjoy life and start conversing with others as if you are actually having fun." Many of Dave's lyrics allude to him asking his listeners to simply "speak, please" (the dreaming tree, for instance). I suppose his philosophy is that if you open up to other people and just talk to them, instead of secluding yourself, then things will be alright for you. BTW, the ball and chain is not an S & M reference. It means that something is weighing you down, holding you back, similar to how a ball and a chain would. |
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| Dave Matthews Band – Dreamgirl Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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I would dig a hole all the way to China, Unless of course I was there, Then I'd dig my way home. If by digging I could steal The wind from the sails of the greedy men who woah, wooed the world. (to woo is to impress) Still you're my best friend And after a good good drink/dream You and me Wake up and make love after a deep sleep Where I was dreaming. I was dreaming of a dreamgirl. Paraphrasal: If there was a secret route I could take (like digging a whole through the world from one end to the other) to win over the hearts and minds of the world from that of greed then I would travel that route, no matter how long or arduous it would be. Though, still, even considering the fact that you've been mislead, I consider you (the world and its people as a whole) as my best friend. Me and you (because I, like you, have been at one time tricked by greed) will both wake up from this period that could be compared to mental drunkenness and embrace each other in our newfound life and values. We will each have to abandon the false notion of life that we secretly harbored while in our "dream" state. *note: Waking up from a dream about a hot fictitious woman is a disappointing and rude awakening. Upon the moment of waking up we grasp for the dreamgirl but she is not real so we must accept plain reality. :-( We sometimes must also accept that our sheets need changing. Second Verse: Well I was feeling like a creep As I watched you asleep Face down in the grass In the park in the middle of a hot afternoon. Your top was untied And I thought 'well how nice it would be to follow the sweat down your spine.' Paraphrasal: Dave began to feel "like a creep" from watching and analyzing, unknowingly by those being watched, those people around him (possibly his fans) as they lay out blissfully "in the park", oblivious to anything that is happening around them, completely consumed by their own satisfaction and pleasure. He now feels wrong about supposedly spying into the minds of others while they sleep and it's now his wish that they awaken. "Your top was untied" could mean nothing or it could be loaded with meaning. It could mean that our HEADS, or the thoughts coming from our heads, (being our "tops" were being laid open plainly for Dave to see. This makes sense if you consider that Dave, being someone who has put himself through an immense spiritual/psychological/emotion struggle by achieving all that he has achieved in his life, has most certainly gained a great amount of insight into the psychology of others (especially his listeners who undoubtedly share some of his views and struggles) and he therefore knows what they are generally going through since he has gone through it himself. No matter how secret you think your own inner thoughts are, they are plain for him to see. Caught by the wave my back to the ocean, It knocks me off feet and just as I find my footing Here you come again, dreamgirl, oh Dreamgirl. Paraphrasal: The ocean is either symbolic of the unconscious mind or the vast expanse of the world outside our heads. The ocean is VERY frequently associated with the unconcious because a boat is subject to the movement of the tides just as each individual is subject to the uncontrolable influence of our unconscious thoughts, which is comparable to the tides. So maybe Dave turned his back on his unconscious needs and continually kept getting "knocked off his feet" when those unconscious needs built up and over came him. He might be saying that it was a mistake to ignore his unconscious needs (for sex, love, happiness, etc) in his pursuit of greed. Deep in, you're deep in the deep end. (or something like that) To pursue things in life which take you away from what's simply in your heart take you into "the deep end" of life. Things get complicated when you get in too deep, etc. I probably could clarify a bit more but I am done now. "Choke me in the shallow water before I get too deep" |
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| Dave Matthews – Dodo Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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Mainly this song is about being stubborn in the face of a need for change in one's life. The Dodo was once a creature of whom became extinct because it did not have what it took to survive in its particular environment at the time, and it refused to adapt to it's new surroundings. The word "Dodo" now is equated with being stupid, and would be most accurately used to describe somebody who stubbornly persists with the same stupid behavior even though the consequences of that behavior would influence any intelligent person to change their ways. Dave Matthews' lyrics are commonly addressing people who have lost their way in life, and this song is another take on that sentiment, great as it is. This song is also about perception. It acknowledges the limits of our perception, and given the fact that our perception has proven many times to be limited (and so also inaccurate) we should not put too much stock in, let's say, a perception of ourselves as being inadequate, hopelessly lost, etc. We thought the world was flat, we thought the earth was the center of the universe, we thought the gods were the direct cause of the spectacular thunder bolts come down from the sky; in each case (and in many more subtle and more personal ones) we were wrong, though at the time it really looked as though we were right. If we had not adapted our perception and understanding of the world over time then we as a civilization might've gone the way of the Dodo as well. What is apparent at any one moment is not necessarily an everlasting truth set in stone. We can change who we are no matter how abject our condition seems. That is generally what this song is about. Once upon a time When the world was just a pancake Fears would arise That if you went too far you’d fall But with the passage of time It all became more of a ball* We’re as sure of that As we all once were when the world was flat So I wonder this As life billows smoke inside my head This little game where nothing is sure, oh Why would you play by the rules? Who did, you did, you Who did, you did, you When was it killed The very last dodo bird And was she aware She was the very last one So I wonder this As life billows smoke inside my head This little game where nothing is sure, oh Why would you play by the rules? Who did, you did, you Who did, you did, you You say who did, well you did, you If all the things that you are saying love Were true enough but still What’s is all the worrying ‘bout We can work it out We can work it out Oh I wonder this As life billows smoke inside my head This little game where nothing is sure Why would you play by the rules? Who did, you did, you Who did, you did, you You say who did, well you did, it’s you |
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| Dave Matthews Band – American Baby Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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In the "Stand Up" DVD which accompanies the album Dave Matthews said "I always try to make my lyrics ambiguous as possible". This song obviously has some political implications, perhaps preying for America to remain as a humble baby in the world context, but it also has more personal implications too. Dave Matthews VERY frequently writes songs more or less asking his listeners to generally not quit on life, try to live to the fullest, don't kill yourself, etc. This song in one of it's aspects pleads for each of his american listeners to "stay", and not let the discouraging forces in life to beat him down. I, I hold, hold on to you You bring me hope I’ll see you soon And if I don’t see you Oh, I’m afraid we’ve lost the way- This is an attempted prophecy, basically. With all of his albums he has held on to the hope of bringing each of his listeners back to life with the joy of his music and compassion and deep insight of his lyrical sentiments. It is for each individual to interpret what he means by "If I don't see you". In what way is he supposed to "see" us? It's beautiful how, with his lyrics, he continually makes his listeners feel as though he is talking to them in particular, singled out through all the millions of others. |
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