Dave Matthews Band – Dive In

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  General Comment:I'm not sure why people miss the satire in this song. Like realmeaning21 suggested, the chorus is pretty obviously mocking those that waste their time taking advantage of the declining state of the environment. Rather than help it, they'll just bask in the disarray. It's a satire. The man in the first stanza who ignores the other man with the sign kind of opens the song with this same idea that we ignore those in need. We ignore the man, we ignore the bear, and we happily dive in the comfort of our own permanent summer bliss (which is rather sarcastic.)
  
  The later stanzas are especially sarcastic. He's clearly saying that NOTHING will be solved by sitting around praying. Those who are "qualified" cannot stop the problems that WE create.
  Therein lies the bridge that talks about the blood increasing. It's our problem- we don't want to believe we are in control, but we are. We want to blame the government or God, but it's our fault.
  DMB is suggesting we need to appreciate others and take the initiative to fix things or "relax" in our destroyed world.

  Flag zebraplopon June 09, 2012   Link

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  Song Meaning:I saw a man on the side of the road
  with a sign that read 'will work for food'.
  Tried to look busy, 'til the light turned green...
  [Point that we as a society tend to ignore problems until they become ours]
  
  I saw a bear on TV and his friends were all drowning
  cause their homes were turning to water...
  A strange, kinda sad, big old bear
  surely would happily eat me
  he'd tear me to pieces that bear...
  [We rationalize why it would not be a big problem if something were to happen to the bear]
  
  Wake up, sleepy head.
  I think the suns a little brighter today
  Smile and watch the icicles melt away and see the water rising...
  Summers here to stay, and all those summer games will last forever
  Go down to the shore, kick off your shoes, dive in the empty ocean.
  [Direct and fairly obvious message about global warming]
  
  Tell me everything will be OK if I just stay on my knees and keep praying
  believing in something...
  [Knock on the right wing, typically associated with religious orientations and often disputing global warming as a legitimate issue]
  
  Tell me everything is all taken care of by those qualified to take care of it all.
  [Reflects attitudes of many of us who feel we do not need to get involved and somehow all problems will be resolved by others]
  
  One day, do you think we'll wake up in a world on it's way to getting better?
  and if so can you tell me...
  how?
  [DMB challenges the listener to think about how doing nothing will actually lead to positive change]
  
  I have been thinking that lately the blood is increasing
  the tourniquets not keeping hold in spite of our twisting
  though we would like to believe we are we are not in control
  though we would love to believe
  [We are screwing up the environment and are approaching a point where we may not be able to undo what we have done]
  
  Wake up sleepy head
  I think the suns a little brighter today
  Smile and watch the icicles melt away and see the water rising...
  Summers here to stay, and those sweet summer girls will dance forever
  Go down to the shore, kick off your shoes, dive in the empty ocean.
  [We think only about short term pleasures, without real regard for long term consequences. DMB reminds us that if we don't stop and acknowledge the problem, it will eventually clash with the only things we tend to relate to well - those same short term pleasures]

  Flag dmbrockson April 09, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:its interesting because in "ants marching" dave explains how he feels people are not ants and we should live like we are not ants, however in this song he compares humans to polar bears or even that their rights are more important than what we want. i dont have much of an opinion on the issue, but i do think its kind of interesting to juxtapose how he views of animals and see the diferences

  Flag heythereskeeteron October 11, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:"One day, do you think we'll wake up in a world on it's way to getting better?
  and if so can you tell me...
  how?"
  
  I think he is asking if the world will "wake up", open our eyes to whats going on (obv referring to global warming)..
  "in a world on it's way to getting better" I think he is talking about Obama being our new president. ( i know that dave was a strong supporter in Obamas election.) and I also think he is kinda asking Barrack to step up to the plate and show him the change he expects to see. (the world get better)

  Flag hollywoodjack22on October 08, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:He's already said several time the song's about global warming..

  Flag ckillaaa8on September 09, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:If you don't understand sarcasm, you don't get the point of this song.
  
  The first two stanzas introduce two problems he's addressing- economic and environmental. Whether or not you believe in global warming, the natural habitat of the polar bears (not bear stearns or any other bear) IS disappearing (melting). And we are obviously having some major economic troubles- no arguing about that.
  
  The chorus mocks those that don't believe/care in the global change in the environment. Hey, look it's warmer and we can go to the beach and party more often! But wait, the Earth's not really warming. It also mocks those who realize it but only think about how it is helping them (they can hang out on the beach more often) and not how it is harming the environment (there is no wildlife left in the ocean that they are enjoying).
  
  The stanza after the first chorus is mocking those who are more apathetic and think that everything will be ok if they pray and/or trust that the government and "qualified" people will take care of all of the problems. If the government says they're fixing things with "Cash for Clunkers" and all the industries are working to be "greener", then they MUST really care about the environment, right? Then it'll all be ok if I trust them with it. I don't really need to do anything about it myself.
  
  The bridge after the second chorus is really sad. It's kind of a rhetorical question- without a whole lot of hope that things will get better. Because no one really knows for sure how to make it better. Even those that care so much. And he also knows that it's almost hopeless while people remain apathetic and/or don't even care.
  
  The last verse is a metaphor. You need to know what a tourniquet is to get it. The "blood" is all of the world's problems. The tourniquet is what "we" are doing to try to fix the problems. But he says that no matter how tight we turn the tourniquet, the problems don't go away and we cannot control the "blood". We would like to think that our tourniquet is controlling the flow, but it's not. The apathetic will continue to believe that it is, too, because it's nice to believe we are in control.
  
  I'm really into environmental activism, so this is how i immediately interpreted the song. :)

  Flag srd2206on August 13, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:And by empty ocean i think he means there are no polar bears or other fish that live there anymore

  Flag Adogon August 09, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:The one part of the song that nobody has talked about and that confuses me is this:
  
  "I have been thinking that lately the blood is increasing,
  the tourniquet's not keeping hold in spite of our twisting,
  Though we would like to believe that we are, we are not in control
  Though we would love to believe"
  
  I understand the first two lines: Metaphorically speaking of our efforts to fight back global warming and that they fall short
  
  But what does he mean by "we are not in control"???
  -Does he mean that global warming is just natural and that we can't change it?

  Flag Adogon August 09, 2009   Link

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    hey :)
    what he's trying to say is that we are, in fact, in control of what's going wrong in the environment, but we try to convince ourselves we aren't to feel better ("though we would love to believe..")

    Flag megandonon December 15, 2012  
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  General Comment:Very good song that can almost come across as mocking to his fanbase who might take the "sleepyhead" lyric as affectionate and the allusions to endless summers as romantic.
  
  Its an environmentalist song for sure.
  
  Possibly I am either giving Dave too much credit or his fanbase too little.
  
  Admittedly not a fan of Dave Matthews and his choppy lyrics but I am impressed by the new album.

  Flag stranger34on July 24, 2009   Link

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  Song Meaning:Actually, the lyrics are saying that we need to do something about global warming. The part about summer and the sun shining brighter and celebrating is kind of mocking the idea that rising temperatures are a good thing. He's mocking the notion that we should just relax, enjoy the warming temperatures, and do nothing. If you listen to the song, the last line about diving into the empty ocean (though it sounds like good summer fun) actually signals the end of the polar bear, with the instrumental suddenly turning from light to darker and haunting. If you disagree with this... Dave explained this himself in an interview.

  Flag realmeaning21on July 15, 2009   Link

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