Christmas Song

this song helped me to think of mary, joseph and jesus as people, rather than just biblical figures that i've been taught about my whole life. ie-"she was his girl, he was her boyfriend...." they had the same human feelings and emotions as we all do, and thats something extraordinary to ponder. dave really is the bomb!

I think some of you are wrong when you say Dave is not a religious man, because he belives in his own agenda. He might not be a Christian Sam but he still respects what Jesus was about and what he is about. Just because he doesnt do the same religious things that normal people do doesent mean he doesent have beliefs and stuff. Dave admires Jesus because they have something in common, and that is beliving that "Love" is the answer to some of the worlds problems. When dave is talking about Mary M. it is just a part of the story it has nothing to do with Jesus sleeping with her. It has more to do with Dave showing an example of how Jesus lived his life by showing love love love to everyone no matter who they were. To me this shows that Dave feels Jesus was on to something by loving everyone and it doesent mean Jesus failed, it means we as humans have failed in learning from that lesson. In any matter the Christmas Song to me is one of Dave's finer "story songs" and is ment for everyone to see that we all are "soul searchers" looking for ways to make the world better and in Dave's humble opinion Love is the way to go. I agree Dave well done

This song baffled me for a long time as to what it meant. I know that Dave, while he is a spiritual person, is a skeptic of organized religion. I too am not a fan of organized religion, so for a long time this song drove me away, despite it beauty and simplicity. But I listened to it again recently and it has an entirely new meaning to me, and has become one of my favorite songs Dave has ever written.

Dave does get in a jab at religion when he says "instead of fear I've spilled the blood of my children all around" which makes me think of the Crusades and other Holy Wars that are fought in the name of some religion. But overall, this song has a very positive message. The Church equates sinning with with being bad, but Dave does not agree with that. He says that we may be gamblers and robbers, drinkers and jokers, or sinners in other words. But that does not mean we cannot look inside of ourselves and find love for one another. My favorite line of the whole song is "Father up above, why in all this hatred do you fill us up with love?" and I love it so much because hatred and love are complete opposites, and it would appear as though both can't exist at the same time.

I think that the whole message of this song is that nobody, not even Jesus who visited a prostitute, can be perfect in the eyes of the Lord, the way the Catholic church wants us to be. So instead, we just need to do the best we can and love each other amidst all of this hatred.

Peace

This is such a great song. The lyrics of the song fit so well with the title. Since I often fall asleep to music, I usually listen to this song because it is just so... I don't know, "lullabyish" if you know what I mean.

this is just a great example of dave matthews as a storyteller. he takes an already great story, and adds his own little twists such as the "oh daddy-o", and the "met another Mary, who for a reasonable fee, less than reputable was known to be". he just has an amazing way of saying something in a way no one else could ever think of

i am clear that this song is about the amazing story of Jesus. but the beginning is so simple. thats what makes it beautiful

Dave was once quoted as saying that he was very fond of Jesus Christ, not for what he said, but how he said it. I think this shows through in this song, a reminder to those of the Christian faith that the point of their religion should be love.

Much like dave, I'm very fond of Jesus Christ, he's my saviour and I love him very much, but the absolute beauty of this song, is dave doesn't act holier than thou, he's merely telling a story about jesus, not preaching or whining about sinners today, its simple and inspiring.

this song is just....i love it because it tells a story..a story that everyone knows about...its the same but its different...dave gives it so much meaning and makes it amazing

I heard this song for the first time in '95 on an Atlanta radio station early one Sunday morning. A girl I was dating at the time was really into Dave, so I recognized the voice immediately. Halfway through the song, I literally got choked up. Like everyone has posted so far, Dave has a way of telling a story in his own unique fashion. Simply amazing. I sang (poorly I might add) this song last Christmas at my family's annual get-together. Even my elder relatives understood it without being judgmental. How many other contemporary songs can 80 year-olds understand, let alone, enjoy. Bravo Dave! Nothin' but love for ya!