Like many, we were interested to discover in this Sunday’s New York Times that Senator John Edwards once promised his former mistress and the alleged mother of his child, Rielle Hunter, that “after his wife died, he would marry [Hunter] in a rooftop ceremony in New York with an appearance by the Dave Matthews Band.” We gather that some readers, insulated against Matthews’s considerable charms by their cultural biases, had a chuckle over the Senator’s display of his cravenly populist musical tastes (this, presumably, after weeping over the plight of cancer-stricken Elizabeth Edwards). We, meanwhile, were simply struck by his selection of an artist so well-known for his frankly sexual lyrics. Given their popularity, rich sentiments, and chat-line-worthy wordplay, the following six Dave Matthews Band songs would have perfectly served the occasion.
1. “American Baby,” 2005
Stay beautiful, baby
I hope you stay American, baby
2. “I Did It,” 2001
Go door to door
Spread the love you got
You got the love
You get what you want
Does it matter where you get it from?
I for one
Don’t turn my cheek for anyone
Unturn your cheek to give your love
Love to grow
I did it
Do you think I’ve gone too far?
I did it
Guilty as charged
I did it
It was me right or wrong
I did it
Yeah
3. “Stay (Wasting Time),” 1998
Oh, just groping you
Rolling in the mud
Stay a while
Come on love
4. “Too Much,” 1996
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up,
fill it up until no more
I’m no crazy creep, I’ve got it coming
to me because I’m not satisfied
5. “Crush,” 1998
Lovely lady
Let me drink you please
I won’t spill a drop, I promise you
6. “Crash Into Me,” 1996
You’ve got your ball
you’ve got your chain
tied to me tight, tie me up again …
I’m bare-boned and crazy for you
When you come crash
into me, baby
And I come into you
In a boy’s dream
In a boy’s dream …
Hike up your skirt a little more
and show the world to me …
Oh I watch you there
through the window
And I stare at you
You wear nothing but you
wear it so well
tied up and twisted
the way I’d like to be
