This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
If I go, before I'm old
Oh brother of mine please don't forget me, if I go
Bartender please
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus, that set him free
After three days in the ground
Oh, and if I die, before my time
Oh, sweet sister of mine
Please don't regret me, if I die
Bartender, please
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus, that set him free
After three days in the ground
Bartender, please,
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus, that set him free
After three days in the ground
In the ground, watch the light
I'm on bended knees
I pray bartender please
When I was young I didn't think about it
Now I just want to run and hide
I'm on bended knees, father please
Oh, and if all this gold, here, should steal my soul away
Oh, dear mother of mine,
Please redirect me, if this gold
Bartender, you see, the wine that's drinking me
Came from the vine that strung Judas from the Devil's tree
His roots deep, deep in the ground
Bartender, you see, the wine that's drinking me
Came from the vine that strung Judas from the Devil's tree
His roots deep, deep in the ground
In the ground, you watch the light
I'm on bended knees,
Oh, Bartender, please
I'm on bended knees
Father, please
When I was young I didn't think about it
Now I just want to run and hide
I'm on bended knees, oh Bartender, please
Bartender, please
Oh brother of mine please don't forget me, if I go
Bartender please
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus, that set him free
After three days in the ground
Oh, and if I die, before my time
Oh, sweet sister of mine
Please don't regret me, if I die
Bartender, please
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus, that set him free
After three days in the ground
Bartender, please,
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus, that set him free
After three days in the ground
In the ground, watch the light
I'm on bended knees
I pray bartender please
When I was young I didn't think about it
Now I just want to run and hide
I'm on bended knees, father please
Oh, and if all this gold, here, should steal my soul away
Oh, dear mother of mine,
Please redirect me, if this gold
Bartender, you see, the wine that's drinking me
Came from the vine that strung Judas from the Devil's tree
His roots deep, deep in the ground
Bartender, you see, the wine that's drinking me
Came from the vine that strung Judas from the Devil's tree
His roots deep, deep in the ground
In the ground, you watch the light
I'm on bended knees,
Oh, Bartender, please
I'm on bended knees
Father, please
When I was young I didn't think about it
Now I just want to run and hide
I'm on bended knees, oh Bartender, please
Bartender, please
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Anyone who listens to DMB knows that Dave has had many a fase where he's gone back and forth between Theism (obviously Christianity) and Agnosticism. I feel this songs meaning is pretty clear whether people want to admit it or not. He's praying. The bartender is God and he's apologizing for what he's done wrong and it seems that he's not only longing for salvation, but seeking reconciliation with the people he's hurt in his life on Earth. and that's what's up.
Jesus is a DMB fan.
is it just me or are christian songs by non-christian bands better than most christian band's songs?
Haha yea it seems that way. I think its partly a business thing; mainstream music seems almost unable to sing openly about God for fear of losing their fanbase or crossing over genres.<br /> <br /> Either that or they are just more talented.<br /> Besides. Christian bands have christianity in the forefront of their songs. Its usually about praising God.
I have learned from 13 years in catholic schools that Judas hung himself because he believed God couldn't forgive for what he did. Dave is begging for God to forgive him when he screams on bended knees bartender please. And yet the wine that is drinking him is one that will lead him to a place where God can't forgive him. Maybe dave thinks if he can't beat the alcoholism and the "gold" that's stealing his soul, maybe God can't forgive him. He is begging God (the bartender) for a sign (the wine) that will resurrect him for the alcohol and the "gold" as Jesus rose from the dead. And, in his weakened faith state, he is asking his brother, sister, and mother to remember him as he was before all of this regret, and maybe if God can't forgive him for this regret, his family will remember him the way he wants to be remembered. It's a great song, but I think it's just a lot scarier than people think it is.
tata, you finally touched on all the points that I feel this song is about. A lot of people talk about the bartender being God but you really touched on all the points by talking about his alcoholism and and the fact that he thinks he is in a place where he can't be saved. Well said, brillinat song, but very sad and deep.
As many have said this song he must've written in a time where he was feeling down on himself. He's asking the bartender (God) for the full glass of wine that set Jesus free because the wine represents the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus that washes away all the sins of the world. He died for all our sins, we just need to believe it. Dave's asking for it because of all his sins. He wants to be cleansed from them through Jesus's blood. He also says if the gold should steal his soul he asks that he be reminded that the materialistic things are only temporary. You see he knows that this world we live in is only for a short time and these things will not come with us once are bodies die. Are bodies are only hosts to our souls, our true selves. God loves and wants us all and that is why he sacrificed his only son, Jesus, to clense all our sins so that we could spend eternity with him. God bless you all. I hope that one day you will believe what God, Jesus did for us all.
It was. There was a slower somber version of it then a more upbeat version for Busted Stuff. I prefer the Busted Stuff version personally. <br /> And I agree with you. Such a beautiful song so wonderfully written.
Tata got it right. I just spent a few days learning the song. For me the song is about salvation and forgiveness. The wine that's drinking me gives life to alcohol as an entity. It's an incredible turn of a phrase. When he connects the vine to the devil's tree, we know he sees it as evil, and when it's deep deep in the ground, maybe he's recognizing that it comes from a place in his subconscious that has a big impact on his life and is hard for him to get to. He's exposing himself, and by doing that, he's exposing those of us who relate to the song. Powerful stuff.
But in that phrase he also added Judas. The vine that strung Judas from the devil's tree. Again, what an incredible phrase. Judas couldn't forgive himself. The vine helped keep Judas -- lack of forgiveness -- tied to evil. Then the comments about the deep roots are more ambiguous. Is it the evil (in Dave) -- the devil's tree -- that has roots deep deep in the ground, or is it the vine (the alcohol that's drinking Dave)? Again, either way, dark.
In terms of death, I think there's both fear and acceptance. He wants to run and hide, but he's working through it, thinking about the people he loves, so there's some acceptance of it. It's interesting that he connects with his brother (don't forget me) sister (don't regret me) and mother (redirect me), before begging his Father for forgiveness. Maybe Dave's father was the bartender for the family, or maybe he's remembering himself as a bartender at a time when he was more forgiving. He wants to forgive himself. He's leaving out his father. Or maybe his relationship with his father was more complicated.
It's also interesting to choose a bartender as a father/lord/saviour/god figure. When he ties the vine to the devil's tree, and asks the bartender for forgiveness, he's saying that the father/lord/saviour figure is capable of giving out the sin of alcohol with one hand and forgiveness with the other. A carpenter is a less complicated idea for a saviour. But Dave doesn't want alcohol. He wants the wine that set Jesus free. He's asking for a spiritual release. He wants divine love-- watch the light. Or maybe he just wants to be resurrected from his current depressed/dark state, freed from his own fear of death.
Whatever he's doing, it feels like a bit of a Jesus thing: He's experiencing something for us, so that we can learn from him.
I'm not religious, but I love the idea from Collin that Jesus is a DMB fan. Happy Easter.
a masterpiece
Dave used to be a bartender..thats where he met the rest of his band. I guess this song is about that
Nope. I think its kind of a plea to be truely saved.<br /> <br /> He wants the wine that saved Jesus, but he is being drunk by the wine that strung Judas from the devil's tree.
Dave used to work at a bar, this is true. This song is more then that however. I believe that Dave is in somewhat of a depressed state of mind. With lines like "Please don't forget me if I go" and "Please don't regret me if I die" How could you not think that? He's fearing death, and is asking people to not regret knowing him. He's asking the Lord to forgive him for what he did, he seems to be praying "I'm on bended knees, oh Bartender, please, Bartender, please..." I believe the Bartender in this song is the Lord. It seems like he's preaching him. Anyways, I believe that he's fearing death, and is giving his last words to everyone before he dies.
This is, indeed a masterpiece
DMB is my god :)
yea i think the bartender is the Lord, b/c the lyrics fit so well with that idea, and dave is noted for his whole obsession with Jesus, and the existence of all that
I pretty much agree with the previous.. it's a song about death.. and remorse.. and.. salvation.. but some lines make it seem like Dave is regretting all this wealth etc.. or at least trying not to want wealth too much..
"Oh, and if all this gold, Should steal my soul away. " and the lines about judas.. well.. judas sold jesus out for 40 pieces of silver.. perhaps Dave is hoping he doesn't suffer the same mistake..?