A Christian Interpretation of Dave Matthews Band's Lie in Our Graves

Are you a Christian who loves Dave Matthew's band? Well if so, you will be glad to know that some of their songs can be interpreted to have a Christian meaning. While this may not have been the original intent of the lyrics, there is nothing wrong with using a song written for secular ends to express our love for Christ. One of these songs is "Lie in our Graves." This song closely resembles Jesus's teaching to Nicodemus in John Chapter 3. Check out my explanation below.

Check out these passages from John 3. First verse 14:

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him"

And then verses 19-21:

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."

Now check out the opening stanza of "Lie in Graves":

"When I step into the light 
My arms are open wide 
When I step into the light 
My eyes searching wildly 
Would you not like to be 
Sitting on top of the world with 
Your legs hanging free 
Would you not like to be ok, ok, ok? "

Notice how much the stanza echo's the lines of the verse? First he speaks about stepping into the light, which echo's Jesus's words about living in the truth. Also notice how "my arms are opened wide" mirrors the posture of Jesus on the cross. In the next few lines he asks in essence "who wouldn't want to be sitting on top of the world?" I believe these lines can be interpreted as a reference to the joyful kind of eternal free life that Christians have in Christ.

But wait it gets better John 3:3-5

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

And the second stanza of the song:

When I'm walking by the water 
Splish splash me and you takin a bath 
When I'm walking by the water 
Come up through my toes 
To my ankles 
To my head 
To my soul 
And I'm blown away

Most people who here the song tend to think he is talking about something sexual when he says "me and you taking a bath". I would like to put forth the interpretation of me and you as "baptism into Christ's death". If you will consider Romans 6 1-4:

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Notice the lyric about how the water "comes up to my soul and I'm blown away". Interesting how that sounds so similar to Jesus's references to how the spirit giving birth to spirit is like the wind.

The last stanza of the song goes like this:

I can't believe that we would 
Lie in our graves 
Wondering if we had 
Spent our living days well 
I can't believe that we would 
Lie in our graves 
Dreaming of things that we 
Might have been 

Would you not like to be 
I can't believe that you 
Would not like to be 
Would you not like to be 
Ok, ok, ok

The parallels to the joys of eternal life are readily apparent. "I can't believe that we would lie in our graves": I can't believe that we would just die. "Dreaming of things that we might have been" I have to believe that we were made for more than that. "Would you not like to be ok?" Don't you want to live forever and be free from your sin?

"Lie in our Graves" is an incredible song musically and after reading John chapter 3 I can no longer interpret the lyrics any other way than in the light of scripture. I greatly enjoy this song and I hope you will too!