Gaucho
Dave Matthews Band Lyrics

With fire to keep us warm
Despite the harshness of the environment, humans learn to create fire to keep themselves warm.

And tools we made from rocks and bones
Humans eventually learned to create tools from the resources around them to improve survival.

A roof over your head
Humans progressed from living in the open to building homes that shelter them.

And walls to keep you safe in bed
Walls were built to protect people from external harm and become the foundation for the concept of safety.

There must be more than this
Despite all the advancements, humans inherently feel that something is missing or incomplete.

So god was born and we in his
Religion is created as a way to explore those deep desires and fears.

Image of fear and love
God is seen as an ultimate embodiment of both fear and love, which is why people seek his power.

Looked down upon from up above
People often regard God as an omniscient entity that watches over everything and judges their deeds.

We gotta do much more than believe if we really wanna change things
Mere belief or faith in something isn't enough for actual change.

We gotta do much more than believe if we wanna see the world change
For transformative change to happen, we must take decisive action that goes beyond simply believing.

We crossed the oceans wide
Human advancement reached a level where vast oceans could be crossed using ships.

Built cities to the sky (oh lord)
We were able to construct towering cities that literally touch the sky.

Looked up and we were flying
Humans were able to invent flying machines that let them transcend the physical boundaries of the earth.

But will we not survive ourselves
Despite the immense success, there's always an underlying uncertainty whether we'll be able to handle our own advancements and not crumble under them.

What will I say to baby?
The singer is worried about how to explain the past and present progress to the next generation.

Let me show you a movie
A visual representation of human progress could be a way to explain things better to a child.

Yea we could do anything
Humans sometimes feel like they're capable of doing anything, given the extent of their advancements.

We flew to the stars and back
Space exploration demonstrated the ultimate extent of human capabilities beyond Earth.

Down to the ground hard
Despite all the successes, failures and setbacks are an inevitable part of progress.

Please wake up
The artist is imploring someone to become more aware of the reality of our progress and what it might mean for the future.

We gotta do much more than believe if we really wanna change things
The repetition of this line emphasizes the importance of taking action for change and goes beyond the limits of mere belief.

We gotta do much more than believe, go on try it, go on try it
The artist urges listeners to take action and try to make a meaningful impact.

We gotta do much more than believe if we wanna see the world change
The ultimate goal of all these developments is to transform the world into a better place, but for that, we must take active steps.

Oh, my little baby
The artist conveys a sense of paternal care towards the future generation and hopes that they won't inherit a world that's worse than what we have today.

I'll show you this movie
The singer repeats the sentiment of showing the child a visual representation of progress as a way to explain things better.

You know we landed a man on the moon?
The iconic achievement of landing on the moon is used as a symbol for human progress and its potential.

I know its hard to imagine
The singer is empathetic about the difficulty of comprehending the vastness of human development and its implications.

But we could do anything
Despite the challenges and uncertainty, humans still retain the same sense of resilience and will to do great things.

Under the stars
Finally, the song comes a full circle and reiterates the underlying theme that we're all just small beings living under the vast sky and that it's our responsibility to ensure that we leave a positive legacy for the future.