Dave Matthews, Agnostic
I've been getting reacquainted with the Dave Matthews Band as of late in preparation for their show at Alpine Valley tonight. I'm making the trip up there for the first time at the urging of a friend who goes on and on about "Dave at Alpine". The only way I know how to shut him up is to catch a "Dave at Alpine" show with him.

To prepare, I dusted off "Crash" and "Before These Crowded Streets", picked up their new album "Big Whiskey" and loaded them into my iPod. For the past couple of weeks I've limited my workout music to songs off these albums, so, I've taken in about 12 hours of DMB since then. Right around hour ten of my Dave-a-thon, I began to realize that Dave Matthews has some pretty scathing things to say about religion and certain aspects of belief.

Here are some of his lyrics that raised my eyebrow...

Pig

Is this not enough?
This blessed sip of life is it not enough?
Staring down at the ground
Oh then complain and pray more from above
You greedy little pig

...

Come sister my brother
Shake up your bones shake up your feet
I'm saying open up
And let the rain come pouring in
Wash out this tired notion
That the best is yet to come
But while you're dancing on the ground
Don't think of when you're gone

Why I am

I grew from monkey into man
then I crushed 15 million with a wave of my hand
I grew drunk on water turned into wine
'til I was a slave and master at the same damn time

It's why I am

...

A king of men it makes no sense
when I bow to the priest while I worship the witch

Lie In Our Graves

I can't believe that we would lie in graves
wondering if we had spent our living days well
I can't believe that we would lie in graves
wondering what we might of been

Squirm

Please find your place the room grows scarce
Once we’re all inside the service can begin
For a moment, if you please forget what you believe
And naked, you will see that we are all the same


Curious, I consulted the internet for information about Matthew's beliefs. I found this quote from an interview he conducted with Rolling Stone (page 113-114)...


Rolling Stone: You've talked publicly about being an agnostic, which is pretty daring these days. Politicians are falling all over themselves. . . .

Dave Matthews: Yeah, "Get out of my way so I can get into the church." It's so small a view of things. Obviously, there's a source of all things, however big or small it is. But if you give it consciousness, it just gets smaller. If you give it concern for us, it gets smaller.

I use the word "God" in my songs all the time, because I don't know what the hell's going on. So that's God – everything that I don't know. But the idea of God as a fatherly figure who looks down on us and worries how we're doing or takes sides when we have fights – it's more irritating than Santa Claus. The world and the universe are far more wonderful if there's not a puppet master.


That explains it.