Unto your dreaming
When you're alone
Unplug the TV
Turn off your phone
Get heavy on with digging your ditch

Cause I'm digging a ditch where madness gives
Digging a ditch where silence lives
Digging a ditch for when I'm old
Digging a ditch where stories told
Where all these troubles
That weigh down on me will rise
Unto your dreaming
When you're alone
Where all these worries
Weigh heavy on my heart
Will rise, will rise, will rise...

Unto your dreaming
When you're alone
Unplug the TV
Turn off your phone
Get heavy on with digging your ditch

Cause I'm diggin a ditch where madness gives
Digging a ditch where silence lives
Digging a ditch and when I'm through
Digging this ditch I'll dig in for you
Where all these disappointments
That grow angry out of me will rise

Unto your dremaing
When you're alone
Not what you're sure be or what you've become
Just getting heavy on with digging your ditch

Cause I'm digging a ditch where madness gives
I'm digging a ditch where silence lives
Digging a ditch and when I'm through
Digging a ditch I'll give one you
Where all these disappointments
That grow angry out of me will rise

Unto your dreaming
When you're alone
Where all these habits
That weigh down on me will die
Will die, will die, will die...

Unto your dreaming
When you're alone
Unplug the TV
Turn off your phone
Get heavy on with digging your ditch



Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Track duration: 04:51


Digging a Ditch song meanings
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21 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:This song talks about everything I've been going through for the past year and a half. I have locked myself in my studio and only go out when I really need to. It has taken a big toll on my life and I have feelings for a certain women too. Earlier tonight I was half asleep and texted her to dinner. She said yes. I am struggling with money and have all the ways to make it, but no motivation...so, no dinner. I feel horrible. Sleep is my only escape. Suicide is not. I have no plans on it, but I do want to improve my situation. These habits that weigh down on me will die...

    Unto your dreaming
    When you're alone
    Where all these habits
    That weigh down on me will die
    Will die, will die, will die...
    Flag drummer10125on June 23, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For all those who are interested, here is some davespeak on this song from 3/19/03 in Oakdale.. taken the wonderful, but unfortunately slowly withering, DMB Rhyme and Reason (dmbrr.com) website..



    I dug a hole, in my yard.
    I dug a hole, I'm doing some landscaping work.
    Yup, yup.

    Anytime you've got something on your mind, stop.
    And if that does not work, dig a hole...
    That will put everything in perspective.

    (in funny voice)
    "I hate this train ride to the city everyday...
    I just hate this train ride to the city..
    I hate the commute...
    the commute is driving me crazy..."

    (regular dave voice)
    mmm...go dig a ditch for 8 hours

    (sings in loungy, happy dave voice)
    "I love a commute....ah, traffic jam, yeah
    feels good to me!"
    - Dave Matthews
    Flag TheGrooGruxKingon December 22, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is about being happy with yourself, so that when the time has come to lay in your ditch, you're comfortable there. In other words so that when you die, you're happy with your life. I think the part about turning off your phone and unplugging your tv is about spending time with the people you love and making memories, or using the time to make peace with yourself and just thinking. Dreaming. He's ready to let go of all of his bad habits, his worries and dissappointments and to not worry about who is was or who he will be but to accept who he is now.
    I love this song, and DMB!
    Flag live4everydayon September 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Sometimes people just gotta stop, and just chill, and just be alone for a bit, think about life, be yourself, and be ready for when your gone...thats my perspective..simple...... agree to disagree
    Flag samr1490on January 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:What I feel that dave is getting at here is that we all have our little thing that we do that gets us away from reality for a while. Whether that be drugs, or TV (so on and so forth) it comes at a price. While we all need to get away from reality for a while, we end up putting off the rest of the world.
    Flag bigshot937on December 06, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:we can think of the metaphoric "ditch" as the human heart, or the belly, the grave, the spoon..many images dave uses to create the mataphoric image of something created to be filled.

    theres the two subjects here as those "to be filled", and those being identified as "the filler"..

    how about the dreaming tree. the tree giving fruit to those eating it. the giver here being the maker of the tree.

    love is always seen as being a filler and something being filled...like a conversation., one speaking and the other hearing, or consuming a meal whereas there is a server and someong being served. then of course theres sex..a filler and one being filled. but these are all metaphoric images dave uses to describe agape love.

    even a spoon where one lays snugly against another.

    mankind is designed to be filled with joy and wrath. and man also will fill others with joy and wrath.

    and here dave of course is speaking metaphorically of making himself a spiritual ditch..or sacrificial vessel.

    to transfer joy from God to man and disapointments from man to God.

    the "weight" rising of course is dave seeing himself as someone being primarily needful of God (feeling worthless) to being someone being used of God for anothers use. he is becoming a vessel fit to be used by understanding his "dreams"
    Flag Me2on June 22, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:dave presents two ideas. one of the physical grave being created within himself as well as the receiver of Gods revelation which he calls "dreams".
    he is describing himself as he is understanding himself as a "sacrificial vessel" in the form of a recorder of all events as well as the receiver of the understanding of why he does what he does.in the way of his visions.

    he is becoming a sacrificial lamb or a vessel where sin is imputed upon, and given to God as well as growing in understanding through dreams given to him by God of what he's becoming.

    think about nighly dreaming..isnt it the flushing out of your memories during rem sleep. the "dreaming" he's talking about here is visions that God gives man of his understanding of himself whereas the dream is not forgotten but is essential to unraveling everyday confusion.
    so that the dreaming becomes the description of your understanding of your function as creating this grave within yourself to be sacrificed to God.
    this is all mens destiny..loving another or "sacrificing" oneself for another.

    where all these disappointment will rise
    Flag Me2on June 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Seems to me just to be about escaping from the bazillion distractions and frivolous things that make up our lives these days, and that really do weigh us down.
    Flag The_Wandereron December 11, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:^I agree. It could just be, like itsALLprogramMUSIC said, about meditating to get rid of your worries. Meditation is a slow process, step by step, so it's like digging a ditch, a grave, where he can eventually bury his problems (get enlightened). Makes sense, with him saying to turn off the tv and unplug the phone.

    Or maybe it's more literal, every day we're a day closer to dying: digging a ditch (grave) is what life is, eventually life is over and we die. Dave isn't looking at this as a bad thing, though. His death is his climax of life, the last page in his saga.

    One thing I have to ask: isn't it "undo your dreaming"? That's how I always heard it, not as "unto" which makes no sense to me. "Undo" makes more sense, since meditation is about undoing your conditioning, stopping the dream and waking up to real life.

    It's not about suicide though, because he says it's for when he's old. I don't know why it seems like every slightly dark song on this site gets analyzed as being about suicide. People need to lighten up! :)
    Flag trippinbtmon July 05, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the ditch symbolizes a metaphoric grave.

    this is the place where all uncleaness is buried.

    this also can simultaneously represent both death and heaven where forgiveness is asked for and received and all sin is given to God. (death is "inside" jesus; life). a place prepared where choices are changed..

    a place where eventually everything is "buried" and replaced with something new.

    this "grave" is the only place where no distractions are occurring. where perfect communication exists between self and God.
    Flag Me2on June 23, 2005   Link

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