While Dave Matthews Band boasts popular songs like “Crash,” “So Much to Say” and “#41” and is known for its lively jams and joyous, romping live sets, the group is also known for saying a thing or two in its lyrics.
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Whether considering “Don’t Drink the Water,” which is about colonialism and war, or “Ants Marching,” which is about the day-in-day-out drudgery of the 9-to-5, the band is not afraid to say a few things about social or political situations.
For another example of this, see the band’s 1996 song, “Too Much.” In fact, let’s dive into the lyrics and their meaning here below.
Gluttony
From the band’s multi-platinum-selling album, Crash, this song was the LP’s lead single and hit No. 5 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. In the song, Frontman Dave Matthews showcases his signature bombastic, even stream-of-consciousness penchant for lyric writing. The opening of the song is a bit nonsensical, but its passion and energy prove impactful. Sings Matthews,
Ooh, straight in, suck up and go
Cool it, swallow, swallow
Bow, breathe deep, take it all
It comes cheap
Push it through the doors
Cause in between the lines
I’m gonna pack more lines
So I can get in
Ooh traffic jam got more cars
Than a beach got sand
Suck it up suck it up suck it up
Fill it up until no more
I’m no crazy creep, I’ve got it coming
To me because I’m not satisfied
The hunger keeps on growing
Indeed, it is with the final line or three that the song actually takes shape. One can imagine Matthews, a whiskey in one hand and a pen in the other, writing these lyrics on, say, a bar napkin. Then the real inspiration strikes! The hunger keeps on growing!
The Chorus
The meaning of the song, of course, is hit like a nail on the head in the chorus. In the refrain, Matthews sings,
I eat too much
I drink too much
I want too much
Too much
In the second verse, Matthews continues his song of hunger, saying,
…Play for me, play more
Ten times in the same day
I need more
I’m going, over my borders
I’m going to take more
More from you, letter by letter
God
In the song’s final verse, Matthews gets even more pointed, bringing God into the equation. Now he’s channeling some of the voices he would later source for “Don’t Drink the Water,” which came out in 1998 on the album, Before These Crowded Streets. In this song’s third verse, Matthews sings of insatiability,
I told god I’m coming
To your country
I’m going to eat up your cities
Your homes, you know
I’ve got a stomach full it’s not
A chip on my shoulder
I’ve got this growl in my tummy
And I’m gonna stop it today
Final Thoughts
In America, Matthews is both a part and an outsider. Having been born in South Africa but raised in the U.S., Matthews talks of the American lifestyle which is built on producing and consuming. Matthews knows this firsthand. He’s in the middle of it as a Grammy-winning artist. So, he knows the empty gut that America has, its hope for a constant supply to try and fill it. That’s what this song is about. And it achieves its point both from the inside and the outside. Sings Matthews in the bridge,
Hey
Suck it up, suck it up
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up, yeah
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up baby
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images
