Top Ten Songs by the Dave Matthews Band

I didn’t like the Dave Matthews Band when they first became popular in my junior high and high school years. But one fateful day, there was a talent show at my college where a talented acquaintance of mine accompanied himself on piano singing “Crash.” I had to get my hands on that song, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since.

My husband and I have gone to the DMB concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center every summer since then except for one, when I was very pregnant with our son. There are great album songs, and there are great performance songs. I hope to provide a great mix of both in this top ten list.

1. Crash

The song that got me into the band in the first place, “Crash” was wildly popular when it first came out. Dave’s entrancing voice tricks a lot of people into thinking this is a great love songâÂ?¦ instead of a song of obsession from a man who is possibly stalking the target of his infatuation. “Oh I watch you there / through the window / and I stare at you / You wear nothing / but you wear it so wellâÂ?¦” But I don’t hold that against Dave; it’s still a great song.

2. Say Goodbye

An amazing instrumental intro starts this song where Dave begs an unavailable woman to have a one-night stand. Depending on when I’m asked, I’ll often say that this is my all-time favorite DMB song. “Float away here with me / an evening just wait and see / but tomorrow go back to your man / I’m back to my world / and we’re back to being friends.” If anyone could convince me to stray, Dave could. With this song. (Sorry, honey.)

3. Rapunzel

Many DMB songs can be divided into two categories: sex and politics. “Rapunzel” is all about sex. Although unbelievably different to dance to while attending a live performance, the unique beat is one of the great things about the song. There’s such intensity. “You let your hair down / right in through your window / good they locked the door.” The crowd goes crazy when the band plays “Pantala Naga Pampa,” the natural lead-in song both on the album and live.

4. Hunger For The Great Light

This is a new favorite of mine from the latest studio release, Stand Up. This song is along the same lines as “Rapunzel,” both thematically and with a driving beat. There is debate over what some of the lyrics actually are, as one line seems to be “My aim is to kill you.” I believe that is the line and it’s a euphemism. Ever heard of the French term, “the little death?”

5. Two Step

Fans chant “Two Step” when the band leaves the stage before the encore at almost every show, at least the ones I attend. On the album, it’s okay, but nothing special. It transforms into something different in concert. “Celebrate we will / for life is short but sweet for certain / we’re climbing two by two / to be sure these days continue / these things we cannot change.”

6. Cry Freedom

Get out your lighter. Dave Matthews was born in South Africa, and this song is about apartheid, though it resonates in broader terms as well. “Hands and feet are all alike / but gold between divide us / hands and feet are all alike / but fear between divide us / all slip away.”

7. Grey Street

This song is filled with pain and angst, and it’s seemed too personal at past points in my life. It’s a powerful song about depression, and you can hear the emotion in Dave’s voice. “She feels like kicking out all the windows / and setting fire to this life / she could change everything about her / using colors bold and bright / but all the colors mix together to grey.”

8. Grace Is Gone

Dave wrote this song after his stepfather died, somewhat from his mother’s perspective. I’ve always liked “Grace Is Gone,” but I “get” it more now that my grandfather has died, seeing how lost and alone my grandmother is. “One drink to remember / and another to forget / how could I ever dream to find a love like this again?” I’m tearing up just singing this in my head right now.

9. Don’t Drink The Water

I call this one political, although it may be more correctly filed under historical. This song is about when the colonists originally came to America and pushed the natives off their land. It’s so angry and so powerful. Alanis Morissette provides additional vocals. It gives me shivers. “What’s this you say? / You feel the right to remain / then stay and I will bury you / What’s that you say? / Your father’s spirit still lives in this place / I will silence you.”

10. Bartender

I think I read somewhere that Dave himself thought that this was the best song he’d ever written. Using the analogy of God as a bartender, Dave pleads for his immortal soul. A song from a tortured soul, I think many people can echo the words sung here. “Bartender, please / fill my glass for me / with the wine you gave Jesus that set him free / after three days in the ground / I’m on bended knees / I pray, bartender, please.”