In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Spotlight
In the spotlight life is so peachy yeah, yeah, yeah
wouldn't you like to retire with a million?
A million beating hearts
behind brick and cold steel piping
fighting for the top
fighting for the room to breathe
bench parks sleepers lie
cold blanket bed less babies
here this must stop
I cannot stay
Damn you, big city, black city
rising up around me, steal my soul away
big city, black city
rise and take me over, steal my soul away
but all out in this world
the night it crawls it falls much harder than I recall
out in this world
a siren calls from every corner
In the spotlight life is so peachy, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
all of us in the spotlight for a reason, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
caught for stealing somebody's riches, no, no, no, no
wouldn't you like to retire with a million bucks?
yeah
Came here from a small town
I see my dreams here in the big city
sour disappointment
I cannot stay
Damn you, big city, black city
rising up around me, steal my soul away
Big city, black city
rise and take me over, steal my soul away
but all out in this world
the night it crawls it falls much harder than i recall
out in this world
a siren calls from every corner
In the spotlight life is so peachy, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
all of us in the spotlight for a reason, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
caught for stealing somebody's riches, no, no, no, no
wouldn't you like to retire with a million bucks?
yeah
yeah....
yeah....
yeah....
yeah....
In the spotlight life is so peachy yeah, yeah, yeah
wouldn't you like to retire with a million?
A million beating hearts
behind brick and cold steel piping
fighting for the top
fighting for the room to breathe
bench parks sleepers lie
cold blanket bed less babies
here this must stop
I cannot stay
Damn you, big city, black city
rising up around me, steal my soul away
big city, black city
rise and take me over, steal my soul away
but all out in this world
the night it crawls it falls much harder than I recall
out in this world
a siren calls from every corner
In the spotlight life is so peachy, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
all of us in the spotlight for a reason, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
caught for stealing somebody's riches, no, no, no, no
wouldn't you like to retire with a million bucks?
yeah
Came here from a small town
I see my dreams here in the big city
sour disappointment
I cannot stay
Damn you, big city, black city
rising up around me, steal my soul away
Big city, black city
rise and take me over, steal my soul away
but all out in this world
the night it crawls it falls much harder than i recall
out in this world
a siren calls from every corner
In the spotlight life is so peachy, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
all of us in the spotlight for a reason, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
caught for stealing somebody's riches, no, no, no, no
wouldn't you like to retire with a million bucks?
yeah
yeah....
yeah....
yeah....
yeah....
Lyrics submitted by antifox64
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well this song isnt all that bad, cant find a good version of it though, always a bad quality live version (its never been recorded on a cd)
heres the meaning: Spotlight is the first of several songs written by Dave Matthews based on modernization and work. The song explains the worse side of life in the cities that we live in. Dave used to say how he hates certain parts of this song, so to fix that problem, he simply stopped playing it. He's openly admitted this in concert.He says that he hates it and will not play it because he doesn't want fans to think that the band is full of themselves! The first few times this song was played the music and the lyrics were very different then the usual version.