Oh, I'm choking, I'm choking
On the smoke from this burning house
I claw and I scrape
But I can't seem to get out
But who then, who is this
That's scratching from the ground
Oh, it's my world too
But who's gold is this I'm digging out?

Where we go, when we go
When we're dead
Is the verdict still out?
Do we get into line
To line up with those long dead now?
With the muffled tears of sorrow
Bones underground
Is this time our time?
Yes, it is
Without of with this shadow of doubt.

I don't want to wake up
Lost in the dreams of our fathers.
Oh, it's such a waste, child
To live and die for the dreams of our fathers
Though I must confess, yes
My view is a wonder about this
This love I possess, love
It must be the dreams of our fathers.

I want to go, I want to run
We turn, so sure someone's looking down
It's haunting me, haunting me
Leaves us here to get out
Though I don't believe, I don't believe
This flavor in my mouth
Is from my tongue alone
So bitter, I want to spit it out.

I repeat these words
They come out
Under the blue light in the sky
My empty pages are filling up
With these wicked lies
But I hear deep in myself
An echo, an echo
Of empty, empty emptiness
Comes up and swells inside.

I don't want to wake up
Lost in the dreams of our fathers
Oh, its such a waste, child
To live and die for the dreams of our fathers
Though I must confess, yes
My view is a wonder about this
This love I possess, love
It must be the dreams of our fathers

Rain on my head
Rain on my head
Rain on me
And then give me air
Rain on my love
Again and again
Why can't I dream you away from me?

Look here, look here
Bloated, floating
Go belly down
Belly up in the water
But who is this here that's drowned?
We followed a drunken man
He got us all spinning round
But it's like he swallowed himself
And didn't leave us a way out

I don't want to wake up
Lost in the Dreams of our Fathers
Oh, it's such a shame, child
To live and die for the Dreams of our Fathers
Though I must confess, yes
My view is a wonder about this
This love I possess, love
It must be the Dreams of our Fathers

This love I possess, love
It must be the Dreams of our Fathers
This love I possess, love
It must be the Dreams of our Fathers
This love I possess, love
It must be the love of our fathers

The dreams
The dreams
The dreams
This love I possess love



Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Track duration: 04:42

"Dreams of Our Fathers" as written by David John Matthews, Glen Ballard

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Dreams of Our Fathers song meanings
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17 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:it talks about the fact that you need to live your own life but you also need to learn from others mistakes.
    Flag sikhmanbedion August 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:After having re-read most of the comments on this page I felt like I wanted to add one more thing. A lot of people don't like this song because they feel like it doesn't fit the old DMB genre, but the fact of the matter is it fits quite nicely. Dave style has always been to not quite settle into one genre. He'll take a little rock, a little jazz, a little blues (so and and so forth) and then throw it into one mix. Thats what makes him so amazing. This song all he's done is just taken a funk feel and thrown it into the mix to make it sound different. Take for example other songs he does simmilar things with: Grace is gone (country), Grey Blue Eyes, (African Chant) Haloween (Metal), Ants Marching (Irish Fiddle), Pantala Naga Pampa (Latin). The list goes on and on.
    Flag bigshot937on December 06, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song. It has a nice funk drive to it that just makes you wanna listen to it over and over again.

    I'm sure that there's a lot more to read into this song than what I'm just mentioning here, but what I'm seeing is that there's a person who is going through a stage in his/her life where he/she doesn't want to be tied up by what his/her "fathers" want. He/she has all of these questions about life and how to do things, but isn't ever sureand so as life goes on perhaps he/she realizes that what his/her "fathers" wanted might not have ended up beings so bad in the first place. "This love I posses, love, it must be the dreams of our fathers."
    Flag bigshot937on December 06, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:there seems to be comparisons of Gold, dreams and taste that dave is allowing us to see here

    the message is about truth over error. this will cause a sweet taste in mouth, bitter in the belly or as dave states his tastes..bitter to taste and sweet to the belly.
    the message is the prophecy of God to man as Jesus Christ being Lord.
    the Gold is referenced to the house burning. the house is a furnace destroying everything burnable leaving the pure metals and precious gems.
    and the dreams are first heard by our fathers..abraham,moses which was the law without mercy. the dream dave is having is law plus mercy..or grace. a dream that replaces a former dream..or a dream within a dream..he hears the incomplete dream of his fathers and the taste is bitter.

    and of course the echo within his heart is the love of God which is the message of Grace filling the void.
    Flag Me2on October 26, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:if you find out what the dream of our fathers really is..theres two versions that is causing the house to burn..

    this si a religious "dream" of religious questions.
    when we go, where we go, when were dead.
    do we get in line, to line up with those long dead

    the two dreams are will God save all and everyone gets in the same line, or does God save only a few going to heaven, with the remaining sent to another line....hell.

    this time is confusing but necessary and confusing without an immediate answer. were all in the same burning house until the dream continues.
    the dream is one being in this world where we find hate and love in the same burning house with hate overwelming and choking everyone.. but we must live by faith that the dream continues and changes where the love conqueres in the end.

    conclusion is theres two dreams. one of the fathers fighting and the other the fathers loving. so it depends on your viewpoint which dream your perceiving.

    dave says its the love he possesses must be "the dream" of our fathers.

    the drunken man is the man in the pulpit.
    Flag Me2on June 26, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I like this song. Be your own person, and dream for yourself.

    I am not a rabid fan of DMB, but I really like the music they put no matter what. This album is pretty accessible since the songs have a more poppy feel to them, unlike Crash and Before These Crowded Streets. Those albums are masterworks in a sense of complexity and musicianship. These chords and words seem simpler to me, easier to grasp. I am glad that they've eased up a bit. Personally, DMB is the best band to come out of the 1990's. The only other band I can compare them too in terms of instrumentation and songwriting is The Tragically Hip.
    Flag OpinionHeadon June 23, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:He realized "oh, it's my world too" with the meaning that it's here for him to leave his own mark on. Dave says that, with or without the doubt, this is OUR time, and reinforces it with saying how it's a shame to live the dreams of our fathers...we need to live in our own way, not in the shadow of others, even our loving family/friends.

    Interesting though, how he says the love he has within him IS the dreams of our fathers. So maybe that's the whole point. That is, not to live a predetermined life laid out by others, but to continue and expand the love we inherit from "our fathers". Take the good, forget the rest. You know, like, in explicit terms your parents may want certain things for you, but implicitly, behind the literal words, is a desire for you to be happy. That's the real "dream of our fathers"

    And, the "Everyday" album is different, but it's still got the magic. Especially lyrically; musically it has it's ups and downs but Dave still writes amazing songs here. I feel that there's a lot of good to take from this album. I used to hate it but I'm seeing it in a new light lately.
    Flag trippinbtmon June 15, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i am a dave fan too. hardcore you may say (own everything seen every gorge concert for 4 years). and i like some of his new stuff just as much as some of his old stuff. crush is my favorite song. and this is near the top of my list too. you know what people? music changes. and he did too. in all his songs he is writing about life, and a lot of your favorites are important ones to him and were period pieces about his life. so why is his life so bad now? i like this song and am writing my college admission essay on it and its influence to me. thank you
    Flag s0medevi1on January 03, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i am a dave fan too. hardcore you may say (own everything seen every gorge concert for 4 years). and i like some of his new stuff just as much as some of his old stuff. crush is my favorite song. and this is near the top of my list too. you know what people? music changes. and he did too. in all his songs he is writing about life, and a lot of your favorites are important ones to him and were period pieces about his life. so why is his life so bad now? i like this song and am writing my college admission essay on it and its influence to me. thank you
    Flag s0medevi1on January 03, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I hated this song. I disliked Everyday in general, but this was one of the worse songs.
    Flag shan4shorton February 16, 2005   Link

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