Your Opinion: New Dave Matthews Band Song "American Baby"

Dave Matthews Band-Stand Up | 5-11-05 | my favorite headache

[My Favorite Headache]

Dave Matthews Band

American Baby

Album: Stand Up-Released May 10,2005 RCA

If these walls came crumbling down And fell so hard to make us lose our faith From what’s left you’d figure it out Still make lemonade taste like a sunny day

Stay beautiful baby I hope you stay American baby American baby

Nobody’s laughing now God’s grace lost and the devil is proud But I’ve been walking for a thousand miles One last time I could see you smile

I, I hold, hold on to you You bring me hope I’ll see you soon And if I don’t see you Oh, I’m afraid we’ve lost the way

Stay beautiful baby I hope you stay American baby American baby American baby

I hold on to you You lift me up And always will I see you in light Hope I don’t get left behind

I, I hold, hold on to you You bring me hope I’ll see you soon And if I don’t see you Oh, I’m afraid we’ve lost the way

Stay beautiful baby I hope you stay American baby I hope you stay beautiful baby I hope you stay American baby American baby American baby

[My Favorite Headache]

Is it me or has Matthews and Co. penned a hopeful song about America keeping its head up during these rough times and keeping hope alive like we have for decades and decades through rough times and that will keep us strong and beautiful and going?

I had really lost my patience with these guys over the last 5 years with their anti-Bush rhetoric and all of their anti-war concerts and pro-Kerry tour. But their new disc came out today and well I heard it on VH1.COM for free all weekend and I have to say I am impressed that they have kept the politics down and the music UP.

What are your thoughts on this message? Am I reading it wrong?

[bpjam]

My thoughts. His songs would be better if they had no lyrics.

[struggle]

All I can imagine is Dave Matthews et al's dookie spread all over a tour boat.

[My Favorite Headache]

ugh it should have posted like this:

If these walls came crumbling down
And fell so hard to make us lose our faith
From what’s left you’d figure it out
Still make lemonade taste like a sunny day


Stay beautiful baby
I hope you stay American baby
American baby


Nobody’s laughing now
God’s grace lost and the devil is proud
But I’ve been walking for a thousand miles
One last time I could see you smile


I, I hold, hold on to you
You bring me hope I’ll see you soon
And if I don’t see you
Oh, I’m afraid we’ve lost the way


Stay beautiful baby
I hope you stay American baby
American baby
American baby


I hold on to you
You lift me up
And always will
I see you in light
Hope I don’t get left behind


I, I hold, hold on to you
You bring me hope I’ll see you soon
And if I don’t see you
Oh, I’m afraid we’ve lost the way



Stay beautiful baby
I hope you stay American baby
I hope you stay beautiful baby
I hope you stay American baby
American baby
American baby

[DennisR]

Yeah - you are probably wrong. A liberal's idea of "America" is completely different than a conservative's. The words can be exactly the same, but the internal meaning is different.

[My Favorite Headache]

One of my Canadian lib friends decided it was to mean the following:

I think this song is a question to the country: \"Where are we going, what are we doing as a country?\". This song is about hope, hope to rebuilt this country that \"lost the way\".

4 years after the 9/11: Bin Ladden still missing, Iraq still not democratic, gasoline cost still going up, 1550+ soldiers dead, biggest deficit ever for the US, new record for unemployment and the situation of the isreal/palestine dirty war is even worse... this is the sense i get from \"God’s grace lost and the devil is proud\"..... the terrorist might be very proud of what they done.


This song is about hope:

\"From what’s left you’d figure it out
Still make lemonade taste like a sunny day\"
\"But I’ve been walking for a thousand miles
One last time I could see you smile
I, I hold, hold on to you
You bring me hope I’ll see you soon\"

The little things make this country great, each and everyone. The country might have made some bad decisions, but still the people, the \"American Baby\" are still great.

As a canadian, i think this song is a message of DMB to others not to judge every american people for the bad politic the country might have made.

[Stonedog]

Nobody’s laughing now

God’s grace lost and the devil is proud

This doesn't sound like Dave's keeping his politics out of it.

[Sofa King]

Dave Matthews sucks. His music has no style, grace, or passion to it. It's just bland, generic slop. Matthews himself can barely even form a coherent sentence.

[My Favorite Headache]

Keep in mind that Dave Matthews is a Quaker...and comes from a full on Quaker family where the only thing taught is peace and love.

Oddly enough...his sister was murdered by her husband right in front of her kids in South Africa.

[My Favorite Headache]

I disagree with the passion comment. His rythym section is one of the best in the business. Carter Beauford is easily tied with Neil Peart of Rush as the best drummer going today.

[Sofa King]

If what passes for rythym in a Dave Matthews song is the best in the business, then it's time to stop producing music for a decade or so.

[DTogo]

My thoughts on the Dave Matthews Band: crap

[Travis McGee]

Doesn't he have AIDS?

If so, did he get it from anal sex or shooting heroin?

[DennisR]

"4 years after the 9/11:"

1. "Bin Ladden still missing" - what is the problem here? What has he done since 9/11? Sure, I would like to see him dead, but I am not losing sleep over the fact he might still be alive in some cold, dark cave somewhere.
2. "Iraq still not democratic" - Not true. They have had free elections. Iraqis have proudly displayed their purple thumbs. Do they have struggles? You bet. Just read the newspapers/internet. But mindsets and cultures do not change overnight. And Iraq is no different.
3. "Gasoline cost still going up" - big whoop. Watch - it will come down also. What will the naysayers and doomsdaysayers have to say then?
4. "1550+ soldiers dead" - as much as I hate this, history will say we did the right thing by not standing around while we knew Saddam Insane was indiscriminantly killing and raping. What kind of guts and courage would that take? The kind Bill Clinton had. That is, none.
5. "biggest deficit ever for the US" - I have to agree there. It is disgusting that our government can have absolutely no clue about this. They are a collective idiot - and I throw in nearly all Ds and Rs into that statement.
6. "new record for unemployment" = huh? I repeat: huh? Someone is misinformed here.
7. "and the situation of the isreal/palestine dirty war is even worse" - this situation will not get better until Palestine learns to not teach hate to its children and/or all Palestinians are dead.

In summary, you cannot take a selection of current events and assign eternal value to them. There are always going to be problems to solve and wackos running around murdering people. But does that mean that any particular point in time is more evil than another? No.

Hope I have made myself clear...

And I still think Matthews' intention for the song is different than what mine would be. He backs Democrats/Utopians/Socialists/Liberals. I do not. But I could say similar words about America as I know it and want it to be.

[QueenBee3]

Give me Hootie and Blowfish anyday. They sound the same and Hootie is hotter than Dave.

[vpintheak]

My Opinion: Left-wing Scum. End of story.

[thefactor]

I have been a fan of DMB since (almost) the beginning. Favorite song: #41.

Favorite album: Live at Luther College, of course.

Haven't heard his new album yet but I will be downloading it from iTunes soon.

I have heard it is up to his usual classic standard.

He is one of the great songwriters of our time. And he can play guitar with the best of them.

[lainie]

I haven't heard it yet. The lyrics don't seem overtly terrible.

Here's one link with some bits & pieces available in mp3 format:
http://weeklydavespeak.com/media/audio/american_baby_mashup_kit_031605.php

[My Favorite Headache]

They brought in an r&b/hip hop producer who really turned this band around musically. I was getting concerned because the well was running seriously dry as of late imo.

Favorite song here is: Pig

[VtecMan]

How can you say he kept the political rhetoric to a minimum? Have you heard Everybody Wake Up or whatever it's called?

I'd really like to see Dave try to run the country better. Dave is just another socialist that holds America to impossible standards.

The problem with liberals and democrats today is that they're thinking not what they can do for their country, but what their country can do for them. They are going to complain about war, then ask for handouts.

History WILL prove Bush right for invading Iraq, and he's already been proven right about Islamic terrorism. He said the roots of Islamic terrorism were not religion and culture, but political and economic oppression. Bush is a good man, and was right for invading Iraq.

Stand Up is by far the most horrible DMB album yet. . That album is a perfect example of why internet piracy exists. Stand Up has two or three good songs, the rest is crap. Why the do you want to pay good money for crap?