Rhyme & Reason
Dave Matthews Band Lyrics


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Oh well oh well so here we stand
But we stand for nothing
My heart calls to me in my sleep
How can I turn to it
Cause I'm all locked up in this
Dark place
And I do not know
I'm as good as dead
My head aches -
Warped and tied up
I need to kill this pain

My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm dead and gone
My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm six feet underground

How long I'm tied up
My mind in knots -
My stomach reels
In concern for what I might do or
What I've don
It's got me living in fear
Well I know these voices must
Be my soul
I've had enough I've had enough of being alone
I've got no place to go

My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm dead and gone
My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm six feet under ground

Six feet under
In why grave
Lying wired and shut and quiet in my grave
Leave me here
Leave me here to waste here
So young and here I am again
Talking to myself
A T.V. blares
Oh man
Oh how I wish I didn't smoke
Or drink to reason with my head

But sometimes this thick confusion
Grows until I cannot bear it at all
Needle to the vein
Needle to the vein
Take this needle from my vein my friend
I said

My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm dead and gone
My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm dead and gone

In my grave
Lying
Lying cold in my grave
The reason
My reason
Take my head off this terror
The fearing won't come back
I can't see
My mind's all wiped clean
The needle
Make my great escape
I seem caught in time
My head leaves me behind




Body fall cold
And I see heaven

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Dave Matthews Band's song "Rhyme & Reason" express a sense of despair and hopelessness. The singer is wrestling with inner turmoil and voices in his head that he believes to be coming from his soul. He's locked in a dark place and can't turn to his heart for guidance. The pain he feels is so intense that he just wants to escape it, even if it means death.


At the heart of the song is a struggle for control. The singer feels as though he's not in charge of his own mind and body – his head won't leave him alone – and he's afraid of what he might do. He's looking for a way out, a way to escape the confusion and fear that he's feeling. The only solution he can see is to numb himself with drugs, but he knows that's not a real solution.


Line by Line Meaning

Oh well oh well so here we stand
We find ourselves in our present situation


But we stand for nothing
However, we have no direction in life


My heart calls to me in my sleep
My inner self tries to guide me


How can I turn to it
But I'm unsure how to heed its message


Cause I'm all locked up in this
I feel trapped in my own mind


Dark place
That is a dark and scary place


And I do not know
And I'm lost


I'm as good as dead
I don't feel alive


My head aches -
I suffer from intense emotional pain


Warped and tied up
That twists and knots my thoughts


I need to kill this pain
I yearn to rid myself of this agony


My head won't leave my head alone
My problems haunt me constantly


And I don't believe it will
And I don't think they'll go away


Until I'm dead and gone
Until I pass away


How long I'm tied up
I don't know how much longer I can endure this


My mind in knots -
My thoughts are twisted and jumbled


My stomach reels
I feel physically sick from the stress


In concern for what I might do or
I fear for what I might do


What I've done
And for what I've already done


It's got me living in fear
This fear controls my life


Well I know these voices must
I assume these inner thoughts are coming from my soul


Be my soul
Because they feel like a part of me


I've had enough I've had enough of being alone
I'm tired of feeling alone and lost in my own mind


I've got no place to go
But I don't know where to turn for help


Six feet under
When I'm dead and buried


In why grave
In my own grave


Lying wired and shut and quiet in my grave
Lifeless and still in my coffin


Leave me here
Let me rest in peace


Leave me here to waste here
Don't disturb my eternal slumber


So young and here I am again
Despite my youth, I'm already struggling with life


Talking to myself
And I feel alone with my thoughts


A T.V. blares
To distract me from my own mind


Oh man
I wish I hadn't made the choices I have


Oh how I wish I didn't smoke
I regret the decisions I've made


Or drink to reason with my head
And how I've tried to cope with them


But sometimes this thick confusion
But sometimes this chaos in my mind


Grows until I cannot bear it at all
Becomes unbearable


Needle to the vein
So I turn to a means of escaping this pain


Take this needle from my vein my friend
And I plead with my friend to help me break free from it


In my grave
But I don't want to feel this way forever


Lying cold in my grave
Even when I'm gone


The reason
The cause of my pain


My reason
My specific reason for needing to escape


Take my head off this terror
I wish I could forget what I'm going through


The fearing won't come back
So I can feel at peace again


I can't see
But it's hard to imagine a future without this pain


My mind's all wiped clean
And I wish I could start over with a clean slate


The needle
The needle I used to escape


Make my great escape
And how it was my way to break free from my pain


I seem caught in time
But sometimes it feels like my pain will never go away


My head leaves me behind
And that it will keep me from truly feeling alive


Body fall cold
Until my body has truly died


And I see heaven
And I can finally find the peace I've been searching for




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID JOHN MATTHEWS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@javilopez65

Oh well oh well so here we stand
But we stand for nothing
My heart calls to me in my sleep
How can I turn to it
'Cause I'm all locked up in this
Dark place
And I do not know
I'm as good as dead
My head aches
Warped and tied up
I need to kill this pain

My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm dead and gone
My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm six-feet underground

How long I'm tied up
My mind in knots
My stomach reels
In concern for what I might do or
What I've done
It's got me living in fear
Well I know these voices must
Be my soul
I've had enough I've had enough of being alone
I've got no place to go

My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm dead and gone
My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm six-feet under ground

Six-feet under
In my grave
Lying wired and shut and quiet in my grave
Leave me here
Leave me here to waste here
So young and here I am again
Talking to myself
A T.V. blares
Oh man
Oh how I wish I didn't smoke
Or drink to reason with my head

But sometimes this thick confusion
Grows until I cannot bear it at all
Needle to the vein
Needle to the vein
Take this needle from my vein my friend
I said

My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm dead and gone
My head won't leave my head alone
And I don't believe it will
Until I'm dead and gone

In my grave
Lying
Lying cold in my grave
The reason
My reason
Take my head off this terror
The fearing won't come back
I can't see
My mind's all wiped clean
The needle
Make my great escape
I seem caught in time
My head leaves me behind
Body fall cold
And I see heaven



All comments from YouTube:

@amircolter3386

I was passed out under a tree and a cop woke me up when this song came on

@washredskin887

THIS version can not be touched. I forgot what the studio version sounds like. Incredible.

@aqualung1466

My favorite DMB song. And this is my favorite performance of it.

@automachinehead

This man has been prog since the beginning and prog fans my age diss him as if he is covid. I told them DMB's Under the Table and Dreaming would demolish entire radiohead's catalogue and proceed to dab on their priceless reaction. We old cunts can be idiot sometimes.

@graceyundercover1663

Def fav song awesome live performance

@narcoleptic988

@@automachinehead yeah...radiohead is pretty amazing as well... Comparing the 2 is like comparing fruits to vegetables... one tastes great, one tastes like crap, both are great for you

@automachinehead

@@narcoleptic988 yes except radiohead is the one that tastes like crap

@narcoleptic988

@@automachinehead lmao I'm unfortunately hopelessly addicted to both bands. Radioheads evolution as musicians just really turns me on.

5 More Replies...

@310taylor

Its one thing to be able to play this. Its another to have it sound good. Guy is so original such a true artist devoted

@magnuscroify

His dark songs are his best, IMO.

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