Early 1990s
In the early 1990s, the band established a cult following through relentless touring with weekly stops at Virginia clubs known as Trax and Floodzone, an active taping community, and an independent LP, Remember Two Things. (Keyboardist Griesar left the band in 1993, shortly before the release of "Remember Two Things".) After signing to RCA Records, Dave Matthews Band, under the direction of producer Steve Lillywhite, released Under the Table and Dreaming in 1994, a critical and popular smash that firmly established the band's style of pop-rock with improvisational leanings. Under the Table and Dreaming would be the first of three albums released under Lillywhite's direction. This was followed by Crash (1996). For most of America, Crash was the record that put the Dave Matthews Band on the map. Featuring the hit single "Crash Into Me", as well as fan-favorites such as "Two Step", "Tripping Billies", and the Grammy-winning "So Much to Say", Crash would go on to be the band's best selling album.
The Mercy Songfacts reports that Lillywhite lent his skills to their 2012 album Away From The World. Lillywhite hadn't worked with the band since a series of unreleased recordings in 2000, which led to the leaked Lillywhite Sessions.
History
David John Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1967. Two years later, his family moved to Westchester County, NY. His father was a physicist and worked for IBM at the time. He has two sisters (Anne and Jane) and a brother (Peter). After living in New York, his family moved to Cambridge, England in the early '70s. The family returned to New York where his father died in 1977. In 1980, the family moved to South Africa where the young Matthews went to several schools and "got more wise about the evils of government, there and in general." He first played at a club in Charlottesville (Miller's) where he worked as a bartender. He admitted to Playboy magazine that he was really never that good at bartending, but loved getting customers...well..."drunk as hell!" He was first discovered in a demo tape that he recorded with a couple of current band members. This all came about when he decided to put together a demo tape and decided that he needed some musical accompaniment; which ended up as the Dave Matthews Band. In 1994, his sister Anne died in a domestic tragedy at her home in South Africa. The Grammy nominated album "Under The Table and Dreaming" is dedicated to her.
Community
Dave Matthews Band is highly involved in giving a helping hand. In 2003, the Band held a concert entitled, "The Central Park Concert" which was held in New York City's Central Park. The concert helped New York City Public Schools, the band is a big supporter of education.
The band also held a concert that helped victims of Katrina.
Sadly, Leroi Moore passed away in 2008. After being seriously injured in an ATV accident in Virginia, Moore succumbed to his injuries on August 19, 2008. He was replaced by Jeff Coffin, famous for his work with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.
Excerpt taken from Wikipedia.org -- the rest of this article can be found at:
Wikipedia
Official site: www.dmband.com
Don't Drink The Water
Dave Matthews Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No use in hiding
Come now come now
Can you not see?
There's no place here
What were you expecting
Not room for both
Just room for me
Yes I will call this home
Away away
You have been banished
Your land is gone
And given to me
And here I will spread my wings
Yes I will call this home
What's this you say
You feel a 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
Here's the hitch
Your horse is leaving
Don't miss your boat
It's leaving now
And as you go I will spread my wings
Yes I will call this home
I have no time to justify to you
Fool you're blind, move aside for me
All I can say to you my new neighbor
Is you must move on or I will bury you
Now as I rest my feet by this fire
Those hands once warmed here
I have retired them
I can breathe my own air
I can sleep more soundly
Upon these poor souls
I'll build heaven and call it home
'Cause you're all dead now
I live with my justice
I live with my greedy need
I live with no mercy
I live with my frenzied feeding
I live with my hatred
I live with my jealousy
I live with the notion
That I don't need anyone but me
Don't drink the water
There's blood in the water
The lyrics to Dave Matthews Band's song Don't Drink the Water contain dark imagery and appears to be about conquest, greed, and the consequences of taking over land. The opening lines imply that the singer is calling out to someone in hiding, asking them to come out into the open. The subsequent lines indicate that the singer has taken over the land and there is no room for anyone else. The singer is claiming ownership over everything, even the air he breathes, and wants the other person to leave. The use of "your horse is leaving" sounds like a warning, giving the impression that anyone who stays will be buried, suggesting that they will die. The line "Don't drink the water, there's blood in the water" serves as a warning, reinforcing the idea that the singer is a conqueror, and anyone who opposes him will meet a violent end.
The lyrics to Don't Drink the Water were inspired by the European conquest of the Americas, and its lyrics revolve around themes of colonialism, greed, and violence. The song is notable for its powerful imagery and its raw, emotional quality that is present throughout the verses. The title of the song itself is a warning about the dangers of domination and power.
Line by Line Meaning
Come out come out
I know you're there, don't hide from me
No use in hiding
Hiding won't change anything, I'll find you anyway
Come now come now
Stop delaying the inevitable, face me now
Can you not see?
Are you blind to the fact that I've taken over?
There's no place here
This land belongs to me now, you're not welcome
What were you expecting
Did you really think you could stay here?
Not room for both
Only one of us can stay here, and that's me
Just room for me
I'm the only one who belongs in this place
So you will lay your arms down
You have no choice but to surrender
Yes I will call this home
This land is mine now and I'll make it my home
Away away
Get out of here, leave this place
You have been banished
I've kicked you out, and you'll never come back
Your land is gone
I've taken everything you had, your land is mine now
And given to me
I own everything now, you have nothing left
And here I will spread my wings
I'll take control of this place and make it mine
What's this you say
You have nothing left to say, you're finished
You feel a right to remain
You have no right to stay here, I've taken everything
Then stay and I will bury you
If you stay, I'll make sure you never leave
What's that you say
I don't care what you have to say
Your father's spirit still lives in this place
Your family history means nothing to me, it's all mine now
I will silence you
I'll make sure you never speak again
Here's the hitch
You have a problem, and I have the solution
Your horse is leaving
You're running out of time to leave this place
Don't miss your boat
Leave now, or you'll regret it
It's leaving now
You need to hurry up and leave this place
And as you go I will spread my wings
As you leave, I'll take over everything
I have no time to justify to you
I don't owe you an explanation for what I've done
Fool you're blind, move aside for me
You're too foolish to see what's happening, get out of my way
All I can say to you my new neighbor
I have nothing to say to you now that I've taken over
Is you must move on or I will bury you
You need to leave this place, or else you'll suffer the consequences
Now as I rest my feet by this fire
I'm finally comfortable and at home here
Those hands once warmed here
This place used to belong to someone else, but not anymore
I have retired them
I've taken everything and I'm not giving it back
I can breathe my own air
I'm in control now and I answer to no one
I can sleep more soundly
Now that I've taken over, I won't lose any sleep over it
Upon these poor souls
Those who used to live here are long gone, and it doesn't matter to me
I'll build heaven and call it home
I'll make this place into whatever I want, and it will be perfect
'Cause you're all dead now
I've taken everything, and you're never coming back
I live with my justice
I make my own rules and I get what I want by any means necessary
I live with my greedy need
I'll never be satisfied, I always want more
I live with no mercy
I don't care about anyone else, it's all about me
I live with my frenzied feeding
I'm always on the hunt for more power and control
I live with my hatred
I hate everyone who isn't like me and I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of them
I live with my jealousy
I'm envious of anyone who has something I don't
I live with the notion
I truly believe that I'm the only one who matters
That I don't need anyone but me
I have everything I need, and I don't need anyone's help or approval
Don't drink the water
Don't trust me, there's something sinister going on here
There's blood in the water
I've done terrible things to get what I want, and I'll keep doing them to maintain my power
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave
Written by: DAVID JOHN MATTHEWS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@9one9Music
Come out, come out, no use in hiding
Come now, come now, can you not see?
There's no place here, what were you expecting?
No room for both, just room for me
So you will lay your arms down
Yes, I will call this home
Away, away, you have been banished
Your land is gone and given to me
And here I will spread my wings
Yes, I will call this home
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
Well, I will silence you
Here's the hitch, your horse is leaving
Don't miss your boat, it's leaving now
And as you go I will spread my wings
Yes, I will call this home
Well, I have no time to justify to you
Fool, you're blind, move aside for me
All I can say to you, my new neighbor
Is you must move on, or I will bury you
Now, as I rest my feet by this fire
Those hands once warmed here
Well, I have retired them
I can breathe my own air
And I can sleep more soundly
Upon these poor souls
I'll build heaven and call it home
'Cause you're all dead now
And I live with my justice
And I live with my greedy need
Or I live with no mercy
And I live with my frenzied feeding
I live with my hatred
And I live with my jealousy
Or I live with the notion
That I don't need anyone but me
Don't drink the water
Don't drink the water
There's blood in the water
Don't drink the water
I'm bleeding
Don't drink the water
Don't drink the water
There's blood in the water
Don't drink the water
There's blood in the water
Bleeding
@Giovan95
Dave Matthews Band has that magical ability to make their live performances sound better than the actual studio version of their songs. That is mad talent right there 🎶🎵🎶🎵
@suzannestachniewicz6591
The dave Mathews band is great in concert
@trenken
Their studio albums suck. They all lack energy and never capture the band properly. I rarely listen to their studio albums, just the live albums.
@Virtuasamsara
Damn straight. Live at Luther College is my all-time favorite album of Dave's.
@tbadam
RUSH had that same quality. They could reproduce their studio albums live...in fact it was a requirement. Many of these so called "intellectual rock" bands seem to strive for that.
@ricardofarinha2535
@Tim Renken ❤mk9
@kellydorazio
One of the greatest performances of all time.
@WaltDBrack
I still maintain this fact today this is the best live performance of any band ever and the best audio engineered live concert ever on planet Earth this one right here
@mikejohnson3338
You're not wrong, Brackett!
@MatthewG1
This was the high-water mark for DMB in terms of personnel, catalog, following, and venues.