Dave Matthews Band – Warehouse

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  Song Meaning:I'm completely dumbfounded by the majority of the comments regarding this songs meaning. Yes, I guess, in a way every person can interpret a song in their own way, but the writer usually has one preset way of viewing something when he's writing.
  
  I've been a dave fan for many many years, but I'll be honest in saying that it was friend who didn't really like dmb that taught me what the song meant. Here goes...
  
  This song is about death/suicide and a battle between the body and the mind. The warehouse (the mind) is in conflict with the body and vice versa. Re-read the lyrics from that point of view and the song suddenly and completely makes sense.
  
  Also, another thing I wanted to point out is how the music relates to the lyrics. For the majority of the song when the mind is speaking the music tends to be more serious, but when the body is speaking the music is more care-free and relaxed.
  
  This song is one of the most artistically genius songs!!

  Flag trewmuzikon July 11, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:I think warehouse is refering to life and being in and a part of the world. He's talking about how you can be and do anything you want with your life. Also, he talks of death and no matter how you live your life it is certain. This song, for me, is that feeling of joy you get when you sit back and think of how lucky you are to be part of this little journey...
  
  This I admit tastes so good
  Hard to believe an end to it
  Smell touch feel
  How could this rhythm ever quit
  Bags packed on a plane
  Hopefully to heaven
  

  Flag jrock5323on April 09, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:This is one of my favorite Dave songs out there. The one reason that I like Dave lyrics, is that they are very poetic and, most importantly, they are not very specific. The reason he does that is so that his songs can apply to any number of things in your own life. I do not beleive this song is about drugs as much as it is about death. It is about preparaation for death. The last verse pretty much sums it up...
  
  That's our blood down there
  Seems poured from the hands of angels
  But trickle into the ground
  Leaves the warehouse bare and empty
  And my heart's numbered beat
  Still echo in this empty room
  And fear wells in me
  But nothing seems good enough to defend
  So I am going away, I'm going away...
  
  The warehouse is your body, and here he discusses the soul leaving the body, never to return. There is a little bit of fear and hesitation, but then he just goes with it and accepts death.

  Flag mike4427on January 24, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:This song is about a drug warehouse that Dave used to work in his teenage years. Dave used to sell drugs on the side in order to pay for his band to travel to different locations and play. Dave used to smuggle drugs in his and Carter's assholes, play a show, and then sell the drugs to fans after the show for lots of money.

  Flagged crazycollin69on January 03, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:Ahh where to start with the warehouse? I agree with someone said earlier this is probably the most emotional dave matthews song for me. I've felt so happy from this song, cried for no reason just the feelings that well in you. I agree that I think this was dave going through the substance abuse changes and when things starting getting really interesting in his life. He keeps going back to the good feelings and substances and keeps revisiting the theme in the song "but this I admit seems so good, it's hard not to believe in to it," he's paranoid at times "make sure all the lights on" tripping "the black cat changing colors, the whole time life is going on through these changes and he keeps revisiting the warehouse yet it is bare and there is nothing at all inside of it. The NYC show has the best warehouse especially the bridge with the sax solo, the monkey chased the weasel theme seems to represent how he chased all these things in his life and grew himself tired and eventually decided it was time to leave these things. He keeps saying, oh how I love to stay at.....we all love to stay at the warehouse with those good times but we all have to start growing up eventually. The NYC show has the best lyrics to for the bridge saying "Remember when we were walking, many things could be better than this for sure, and now things could be worse so much worse for both you and me" He's reflecting on all the things that have changed and how he went from being depressed on substances in the warehouse to reflecting back to it and just remembering it all. The end is the best part, when he looks back and says that's all our hard work our "blood" down there and it seems poured from the hands of angel's in the end. It was all worth it and some weird way it all made sense in the end he finally leaves the warehouse and those good times and hopes the next ones are just as good "heaven" That is just what it means to me, but like I said NYC best version for a great song.

  Flag AmesMyManon August 15, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:Ok. Even though it seems that nobody wants to admit it when Dave writes a song with heavy drug/susbstance connotation, this happens to be one of them. The theme for "Warehouse" was created and is based on a real place in Charlottesville, Va. Dave used this song not only to describe some of the emotions, feelings, thoughts, and frames of mind he had while at the actual warehouse,(But this I admit seems so good///Black Cat Changing Colors) but also as a subliminal way to refer to your body as a temporary dwelling place for the soul.(Bags packed, on a plane, hopefully to heaven) In this song it seems to me that Dave struggles with keeping his mind at ease as far as substances, and significance are concerned. Both are topics that he covers in other songs,(Rhyme and Reason) he just happened to make this one a little more interpretive. I think it's very interesting because depending on the listener,, the entire meaning of the song can change.

  Flag ruca42o0on August 13, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:Dave was on acid.
  And he was singing about how he was feeling (:

  Flag jewnelllon July 22, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:This is one of my favorite songs to hear live - I love how the song changes into sort of a Jamacian steel drum ska riff at the end, when the speaker finally comes to terms with his death and is able, without fear to look back on his physical life and revel in how great it was to be alive. smelling, touching, feeling. But in the end, the body is just a bare and empty warehouse for the soul, and when the soul is ready to move on, the warehouse is just a pile of empty bones. By the way, no one has mentioned the wonderful dual metaphor of the bones: "sitting over these bones - you can read them however you want to" - "bones" not only refers to the actual bones of the body that the soul is hovering over, but also to fortune, as in casting bones (dice) to divine the future or to divine life's meaning. Is the singer's soul saying that he regrets having spent so much time worrying about trivial things, and now he sees that the colors don't really matter. So "keep all your sights on", because what comes next is really going to blow your mind :)

  Flag altbobon July 14, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:First of all this could be my favorite song of all time and it is pretty much a masterpiece.
  The meaning of it is about a drug addiction and being on drugs but it is nothing like Jimi thing because Jimi Thing has nothing to do with drugs it is all about sex

  Flag crash20072007on September 08, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:Like Holladee said, this song can be interpreted so many ways. Everyone finds something a little different in it. Here's my take on it (basically what other people have already said):
  
  I think the warehouse is analogous to life. The warehouse symbolizes storage of supplies we need in life. So the warehouse is our food and necessities in life keeping us safe and comfortable.
  
  He keeps repeating that he is leaving the warehouse. I think he means he is leaving the safe haven of comforts in life. He is approaching either death or death-like states where safety is not an option.
  
  'Hey reckless mind
  Don't throw away your playful beginnings'
  - Here Dave is saying that we should remember our youth and how we were not so serious with ourselves back then, so that we don't get too serious in life.
  
  'Leave all the lights on
  So we can see the black cat changing colors'
  - Again, he is cautioning us not to go berserk without our emotions. The lights on are the little things in life that help us get through the day. Keep the lights on means keep the little things so we can still be in wonder at the marvelous things in life. Later, he says the colors don't matter. I think Dave is saying we should value our own perception instead of the actual colors.
  
  'And here I sit
  Life goes on
  End of tunnel, TV set
  Spot in the middle
  Static fade, statistical bit
  And soon I'll fade away, I'll fade away
  
  This I admit tastes so good
  Hard to believe an end to it
  Smell touch feel
  How could this rhythm ever quit
  Bags packed on a plane
  Hopefully to heaven'
  - The most revealing lines in the song to me. These lyrics tell me that Dave finds life more beautiful than he could ever condense into words but at the same time, he knows it's going to end. 'Hopefully to heaven' means that we always need hope in our lives so we must keep a belief in a better after-death world.
  
  'That's our blood down there
  Seems poured from the hands of angels
  But trickle into the ground
  Leaves the warehouse bare and empty
  And my heart's numbered beat
  Still echo in this empty room
  And fear wells in me
  But nothing seems good enough to defend
  So I am going away, I'm going away... '
  - These lyrics are so powerful when he sings it. I think he demonstrates his fear, concern, and acceptance of life's ups and down in these lines. I think he admits that as his youth trickles away like blood into the ground, he is losing the comfort of the warehouse. He keeps fearing he will lose the warehouse, until he realizes the warehouse isn't really important. It isn't worth defending because the people he loves are leaving it as well. He realizes he might as well accept leaving the warehouse (death), because there isn't anyone left to defend.

  Flag SwiftAlbatrosson July 30, 2007   Link

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