The Last Stop

This song has one central theme - It is meant to speak out against war and violence in general.
The references to religion and Jesus are used only to back up the main point. He uses religion to back up his point by showing how much people try to justify war with ideas such as "the end justifies the means" ("War/ The only way to Peace/ I don't fall for that"). "Gracious even God/ Bloodied the cross/ Your sins are washed enough” - This section is written from the point of view of someone defending war by the idea stated above: arguing that violence is necessary (Jesus died to save us). "Your sins are washed enough" - suggests that God forgives those who do evil things with good intentions, and in order to achieve a good goal - ("Then say forgive me, forgive me"). "The chosen one" is not Christ; he is referring to the listener. Dave is accusing us of trying to force are views and customs upon others. "You're righteous, so righteous/ You're always so right" - This sarcasm, he is trying to say that we each think that we are always right. MISC. "Here there is more than is showing up/ Hope that we can break it down/ It's not so black and white" - This is trying to tell people that they need to keep an open mind and be able to adopt the point of view of others and try to understand them rather than reject them. Specifically "It's not so black and white" is suggesting that we often see our own views as absolutely right, while regarding opposing views as absolutely wrong. "Mother's cry/ "Is hate so deep/ Must a baby's bones/ This hungry fire feed?" - This is a reference to war; it describes how the desire of some to fight requires the lives of young men. The "baby" is a young man that is being sent into war by the choice of someone else.

P.S. This is entirely my opinion. (Sorry about the length, I tried to be thorough.)

To be completely honest, this song freaks me out. It's not like most of Dave's other songs. You can tell by just listening to it that it's so full of anger. I like the lyrics, and I understand what he's referring to... people being hypocrites and all the hate that's present in our society... But... It definitely isn't the most uplifting song in the world. Still good, though.

The Last Stop, IMO, is about people resolving to violence and sinning. And he talks about how he doesn't believe war can lead to peace. He also mentions religion and how Jesus sacrificed his life for all the sinners. Dave is basically telling people to stop being so cocky ("you're so righteous") and hating each other. At least, that's what I get out of the song.

I dont think this song is denying that Christ died for the sins of mankind, there is a lot of christian references in there though, and it might be worth reviewing them, least give you my opinion of the song anyways. I think that the emphasis on Christ and 'Peace' is in fact a reference to the prophescy of Isaiah, in Isaiah 9:6, here Jesus is referred to as the 'Prince of Peace', this idea is also reflected in his life and teachings. What the song is getting at is how can people who claim to come in the name of the 'Prince of Peace' bring such hate, torment and suffering to the world? The inquistitions and the conquest of the Americas comes readily to mind. The answer is, as rasberry2003 points out, is that they are hypocrites. They claim to be righteous, but their actions show otherwise, they are filled with hate and greed and lust. These kinds of people were around in Jesus' day, they were called the Pharisees, and they are still around today.

The Pharisees were the very people who plotted to kill Jesus, with the help of Judas, they carried out their plot, so it was these hypocrites who were 'nailing good to a tree'. Jesus talks about these people and how they existed before his time as well, how they murdered the prophets of God, and how the pharisees are just like them, matthew 23:27-39.

one last bit before I finish, the expression 'nailing good to a tree' is am allusion to 1 Peter 2:24

'Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.'

Well, its kinda long, so Im sorry if it takes a while to read, thanks for listening.

Dave Matthews has vocalized that he is an agnostic. His biblical allusions are metaphors and other literary devices.

crazy good, that is

I agree. This song definately disturbed me. It does seem very angry. It has a lot of referenced to the crucifiction of Christ. It seems like he is saying that he thinks Jesus was not the son of God and that He didn't need to die for our sins. It creeps me out when I listen to it so I usually skip it. The rest of the cd is really great though.

While this song is about religion, It is referring to the problems going on in the Middle East today.
The line "Fire grows from the East" is referring to the conflicts rising out of the middle east.
Also, many of the problems there today have been disturbing the peace over there for centuries. hence the lines "how is this/ hate so deep/ Lead us all so blindly killing killing"
One of the main problems is a fight over whose land is whose, because they all believe that they are God's chosen people and that this land should be theirs. "Go ahead and dream/ go ahead believe that you are the chosen one... you're righteous/ you're always so right."
Finally, many people in the middle east see dying as a martyr, or for their religion, will send you straight to heaven, and so this is seen as a glorious way to die. therefore, war is seen as a viable option since it is a "Holy War." This birngs aobut the lines "If hates the gate to peace/ This is the last stop," "War/ The only way to peace/I don't fall for that," and "Right is wrong now." I hope you all aren't scared of this song anymore ;)

One word to describe this song, powerful. There are an endless amount of interpretations we can make. "War, the only way to peace", isnt that true? Basically a song about the other spectrum of humanity that dave usually sings about, love and happiness and not worrying about tomorrow. This song is about hate, and war, very good to listen to when you are "lifted", you think of some very spiritual things.

this song was very...dark. It was so diff. from the rest of daves other songs it made you pay attention. I think this was a very powerful efftect over his listeners. None the less, This song was great, another fantastic one to add to his collection of many.