Lyrics for Bartender as interpreted by antifox64

Bartender Lyrics
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
Watch the light

I'm on bended knees,
I pray bartender please

When I was young I didn't think about it,
Now I can't get it out of my mind

I'm on bended knees, father please

Oh, and if all this gold 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

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

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apache9warrior
04-12-2002

Rated 0 
a masterpiece

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Big Kevbo
04-17-2002

Rated 0 
Dave used to be a bartender..thats where he met the rest of his band. I guess this song is about that

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Emo
05-01-2002

Rated 0 
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 :)


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sean7711
06-08-2002

Rated 0 
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

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garrick52
06-14-2002

Rated 0 
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..?



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kz38sy
06-17-2002

Rated 0 
This is currently my favorite DMB song and it is due for release next month. I like it because it reflects a belief that I have about how people view God, Christians included. We tend to view God through the lense of how we form idols in our heart. We form idolatrous ideas of who God is in order to help us frame him in ways that are more tangible to our weak minds and hearts. In this song, I believe Dave is appealing to God as a bartender. The bartender image is significant for him because he has had/still has a drinking problem.

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iro
07-06-2002

Rated 0 
He knows his maker will fill him with the 'wine' one day, and 'fill his glass' but saying that he doesn't want to be regretted, wants to be remembered the way he wants. He is going down the wrong in life, perhaps, and wants to be changed, forgiven, and not have this pperiod looked upon as his defining moment when he is gone.

2c

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deathbear
07-24-2002

Rated +1 
is it just me or are christian songs by non-christian bands better than most christian band's songs?

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Traumattizing
07-25-2002

Rated 0 
ok, so I was never really a fan of this song from all the live versions I've heard...but the reworking of it for "Busted Stuff" is fantastic! it may very well be the best song on the CD (which is saying alot!)

Dave has outdone himself...YET again

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MLRLight
07-27-2002

Rated 0 
This song is not supposed to be taken completly literally. The bartender is God. These songs were written when Dave was at a low. Hes talking to God, saying he wants to die, but wants to come back right after. hense "fill my glass for me, with the wine you gave Jesus that set him free after 3 days in the ground" hes talking to members of his family, living and parted...hoping they will understand his decision. dave went from rags to riches. He knows its getting the best of him. "The wine that's drinking me, Came from the vine that strung Judas, From the Devil's tree, It's roots deep, deep in the ground, ground." He also askes his mother to redirect him with this "gold" One of the best songs ever. And the best so far by him. He believes it is his favorite as well =)



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Lissy Ratz
08-01-2002

Rated 0 
"Could God come down from the hevens and take the form of this bartender standing in front of me and save my life?"
Truly a masterpiece, musiclly, lyriclly. just beautiful

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Traumattizing
08-02-2002

Rated 0 
like Lissy Ratz said above. In the recent Rolling Stone, dave said this about the song
"It's not the happiest idea in the world, thinking about dying and what your life means, "..." and the Jesus thing is an impossible comparison: Can God come out of the sky, take the form of this bartender in front of me and save my life?"
Dave also noted that he thinks this is one of the best songs he's ever written...and that he was drinking alot with he wrote this song...drink on Dave!

i think the lyrics
"Oh, and if all this gold,
Should steal my soul away.
Oh, dear mother of mine,
Please redirect me if this gold..."
is the only time he's really talking about himself in the song though....those lyrics obviously mean "dont let this popularity/greed/money get to my head so that i become someone i'm not, and if i do, set me back on the right track"

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davehead11286
08-04-2002

Rated 0 
This song, to me, is very spiritually rooted... breaking it down i believe that dave is realizing everyone's time on this earth is limited and he is regretting, like everyone does, mistakes he's made. He's praying (on bended knee) for forgiveness and eternal life, a.k.a. the wine God gave Jesus. As far as the Judas part goes, Dave feels that, like many people in todays materialistic society, he has sold his soul for earthly possessions, much like Judas sold out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Judas later hung himself (or strung himself, as Dave puts it). This evil, symbolized by Judas's vine, is what Dave has been drinking in instead of God's righteousness. Just my take on this song. Its pretty biblical and, yes, deathbear, Dave's christian songs are leaps and bounds above other christian music! Peace.

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deathbear
08-04-2002

Rated 0 
dave in rollin stone:

if only god good take the form of a bartender and save me

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davehead11286
08-04-2002

Rated 0 
debate: is dave a true christian or just an artist who grew up hearing bible stories?

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deathbear
08-04-2002

Rated 0 
god could*

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Traumattizing
08-04-2002

Rated 0 
I just saw dave and the boys preform on friday (august 2nd) it was an awesome set, played alot of great songs (look on his site for the setlist) i wish he would have played "warehouse" and "dancing nancies", but they did play "you never know" and "jimi thing" along with "bartender" and bartender was the highlight of the show! They jammed it out for a good 15 minutes, it was the best song of the night! Boyd was hammering the strings and bouncing all over the stage, Carter was pounding the canvas, Dave was nearly breaking strings, Leroi was turnin blue in the face, and Stefan was playin the hell out of the bass....it was unbelievable!

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tata5799
08-14-2002

Rated 0 
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.

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Traumattizing
08-23-2002

Rated 0 
I too spent many a years in Catholic schools, k-12th and it shouldnt have taken you all 13 years to learn that Judas hung himself after betraying Jesus ;)

Anyways...I just read somewhere in a concert review that Dave got all "worked up" during a recent concert while playing this song. By "worked up" I'm not sure exactly what they mean, but there must have been some deep emotions flowing one way or another, so obviously this song is near and dear to Dave.

And the more I listen to this song I swear Dave says "...Now I just wanna run and DIE" not "run and hide" maybe its just me though *shrug*

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your_name_here
08-23-2002

Rated 0 
i thought he sang run and die too, maybe its a different version..

this is the most beautiful, most amazing, most wonderful song and i absolutely adore it. never will anyone ever write a song with so much emotion and present it with so much passion. i hold this song in my heart always.

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StoneUNT
09-10-2002

Rated 0 
What a song! It is no secret that Dave is somewhat of a tortured soul. He has been blessed with a great talent and great career, but he has a curse with his battle with substance addiction. This song really gets me going and touches me to the soul. Grey Street and Bartender are simply amazing and stand head and toe above any of the other songs on the album, which is saying something because I think this is their best stuff since Crash.

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sharpasasp00n
09-26-2002

Rated 0 
Beautiful. Busted Stuff is such a good CD. I'm so glad they released that album because Everyday scared me.

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rubberduckie
03-09-2003

Rated 0 
going along with the theme of bartender = god...

i personally think that this is the most obvious way to interpret this song, as it fits with all the lyrics, especially the part about being on bended knees.

also, this idea is by no means new - an indian philosopher once had an elaborate bartender/god comparison, and was subsequently killed for saying so. dave probably was aware of this, as it is a moderately well-known (esp. among the more alcohol-inclined...) piece, and built upon that with this song.

just my two cents!

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jmue
03-10-2003

Rated 0 
this proves all the skeptics wrong...dave DOES believe in God!

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evilemice
03-29-2003

Rated 0 
i actually joined this site to comment on this song.
This is without a doubt one of my top three dave matthews band songs, and one of my top five overall. The way he pleads to be forgiven, for life, for death, for love its like it moves you beyond words or anything. I'm saying that bartender is god also, and he kinda is pushing the lines by saying it. Its soo cool, its like there are many metaphors to God, but a bartender? Life as some drink. Its awesome. Definatly one of my favorite songs (and the flute at the end is just friggan amazing)

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