My interpretation of "Daddy when you gonna put me in a song?"

[paulg83]

All great input. I think it can be interpreted many ways. I have an idea of my own that occurred to me while listening tonight. Clearly this character of Stella is in trouble, sitting on a roof in a flooded city, crying in the darkness, while the song continuously asks "Tell me when help is gonna come". Things look pretty grim for Stella, her time apparently drawing nigh, and by asking urgently in her last moments for her father to put her in a song, she is asking him to make her immortal, as the song will live on long after she does. When you think of it this way, that urgency in Dave's voice as he sings the line really makes the song that much more emotional... The water's rising and Stella just wants her father to save her, and tragically, the only "help that's gonna come" is Dave writing this song.

[SweetUpN'Down63]

Originally Posted by HolyCow

So it's like New Orleans asking Dave to put the city and its trials post-Katrina in a song, not Stella. But at the same time, he got his shoutout to his daughter.

Does that make sense at all?

Yes. I was thinking the exact same thing too. It's similar to Grace is gone, how his daughter's name is in the title, but "Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think" is clearly not about his daughter ha

[Smurf41]

Originally Posted by HolyCow

Obviously Alligator Pie is about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. We get that. But I've heard a lot of people complain about the "Stella said, 'Daddy when you gonna put me in a song?'" line. They say it's out of place and doesn't mean anything. I disagree.

Here's what I think:

Stella could be a metaphor for New Orleans itself. Obviously she is a character living in New Orleans, but the way I hear it, she could potentially represent the city itself. Let's go to the video evidence:

"Floating in the lower nine
Waiting for a boat to throw me a line
See my Stella smile
Sitting on the roof eating alligator pie
First day the water rise
Second day the sun is high
Third day Stella cried cause night times dark as a dead man's eye's"

Obviously that might be a stretch there. But Stella could be New Orleans because that's a situation just about every soul in NOLA was in. But Stella (New Orleans) did cry when this happened.

But this stanza seals it for me:

"Remember how I feel in those days of the summertime
Then Stella smiled, she said
Stella said daddy when you gonna put me in a song?"

It's remember how NOLA used to feel. And then Stellas asks when she's going to be in a song. So I interpret that line to say "Hey world, when are you going to hear New Orleans' song? Don't forget about us down here and what happened. Keep singing our song and don't forget us.

So it's like New Orleans asking Dave to put the city and its trials post-Katrina in a song, not Stella. But at the same time, he got his shoutout to his daughter.

Does that make sense at all?

Going back to the first verse, I think "3rd day stella cried" is just saying what she would do if she were there at the time kind of representation. and that she just repersents NO in general (the city cried)

I think you may have gone a little too deep, but I like the general theme of what you're saying!

[BigHappy]

Floatin' in the lower nine
Waitin' for a boat to throw me a line
See New Orleans smile
Sittin' on a roof eatin' alligator pie
First day the water rise
Second day the sun is high
Third day New Orleans cries
'Cause night time's dark as a dead man's eyes

Lord
Tell me when help is gonna come
New Orleans said Daddy when you gonna put me in a song

Storm went right on by
Thanked the Lord everybody's alright
Don't mean to throw off a second line
But the devil broke the levee and left us here to die

New Orleans said Daddy when you gonna put me in a song

All the things we know and
Everything we hope for
All the things we wanted
Everything that was sure
Now there is a scar where
The old men used to be
The corner store and market
Where New Orleans used to sing to me
Grace is all I'm asking
When will Grace return
Grace is all I'm asking

Remember how it feels
Lazy days in the summertime
Then New Orleans smiled
New Orleans said Daddy when you gonna put me in a song

LOVE IT

nice interp, OP

[BigHappy]

i hope Stella isn't reading this thread

[Sunkisd]

I don't know if this was part of anything Dave thought about, but Stella was also the name of the lead in "streetcar Named Desire" which is in New Orleans. may jsut be a conincedence, but it worked out well.

SSSSTTTEEELLLAAA!!!

[raven10]

Originally Posted by inmytree

I think that's a really great reading of it, and not too far a stretch at all. I'd always heard it being a comparison for Dave between the innocence/ignorance of a child against the very real concerns the adult has about the rising water. It's certainly as if Dave made himself a character in NOLA, and actually put himself and his daughter on a rooftop in the Lower Ninth (in his imagination at least). While the adult (Dave) is fretting about the hurricane storms, wondering where the hell the Coast Guard is, wondering why everyone has abandoned him, the daughter, not realizing the horror of the situation, has her mind on more trivial matters. Maybe it's meant to be taking literally; maybe the character is a NOLA musician.

The line "Third day Stella cries, cause nighttime's dark as a dead man's eye" also points to this. Stella is crying at the nighttime; she doesn't like it because it's dark outside. However, the adult draws the comparison; he's probably more concerned with the dead body floating by his house, the body of a neighbor.

I also really like the line "need a dance hall to get y'all down here." It has a very interesting double meaning. On one hand, Dave could simply be saying that they need to get the good times going again in NOLA, with the 'dance hall' representing the vibrant music community that was once there, is still there (albeit damaged) and could be there again. However, it could be accusatory as well. Pretty much these days the only reason people think of NOLA is for the dance halls. People go to Mardi Gras and Jazzfest for the music and the parties and don't think about the horror and difficulty that still is present outside the Quarter. Maybe Dave is trying to put those people on edge, saying that the fact that the city needs help apparently isn't enough.

Fantastic post. I definitely agree with this and think this is really one of Dave's best lyrical efforts in a long time. Not to mention the song is becoming a monster live. I can't wait to hear Barnes or Robert Randolph on it live. I almost can't believe how fantastic this song is.

I also really like the "Took a dance hall to get ya'll down" line. This just has a great double meaning and is a unique perspective on the city of New Orleans. Give this song a year and I think most people will start seeing this song for the great song it is

[Panther41]

Originally Posted by Sunkisd

I don't know if this was part of anything Dave thought about, but Stella was also the name of the lead in "streetcar Named Desire" which is in New Orleans. may jsut be a conincedence, but it worked out well.

SSSSTTTEEELLLAAA!!!

Glad to see someone else picked up on this. While convenient (that Dave named his daughter Stella) I don't think it's a coincidence that she embodies New Orleans in this song.

First day the water rise
Second day the sun is high
Third day Stella cries
'Cause nighttime's dark as a dead man's eye

One of my favorite little sections of lyric on the album.

[dinoulis]

Dave matthews mentioned at the last concert of Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park london " i have a girl named grace, and that's why i have the word Grace mentioned in many of my songs. but i also have another girl called Stella, and one day she came up to me saying "Daddy, when you gonna put me in a song"


simple really isnt it

[GrooGruxChapa]

Dave Matthews said at the Fuse Network CD debut "Live at beacon Theater" that he has 2 daughters, Grace and Stella. He said he uses Graces name alot in his songs and finally Stella came up to him and said "daddy when are you gonna put me in a song" so from that came "Alligator Pie"

[RiotAct]

Iiiii laaaiiikkkeee thattt sawwwnngggg!!!!!

[DMBartenderWI]

Originally Posted by Kyvek

Here's my two cents...

So, the word "grace" is in like 13 songs so far. Stella keeps hearing her sister's name, and gets pissed. Yells at pops, and he says "sure I'll put you in a song." Here comes Alligator Pie..."Stella said blah blah..." BUT in the chorus, Dave says "grace" over and over again! "When will grace return?" like when can I stop singing about Stella and start writing about grace again?

Holy shit that's funny dude.

[DMBartenderWI]

Originally Posted by mrmr

I wish more illustration of that

Ali baba.

[Elliott Evans]

Originally Posted by HolyCow

Floating in the lower nine
Waiting for a boat to throw me a line

This could be from the perspective of a dead person.

Knowing some New Orleans funeral customs, perhaps the "When are you gonna put me in a song?" refers to this? "When are you going to celebrate my life?"

[BotheLaneFan]

I always thought it was about fish tacos.

[firedancer811]

Originally Posted by SweetUpN'Down63

Yes. I was thinking the exact same thing too. It's similar to Grace is gone, how his daughter's name is in the title, but "Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think" is clearly not about his daughter ha

Grace is Gone was written and played live for over a year prior to the birth of Grace and Stella.

[sammitch2488]

Stella is also the main girls name in Streetcar named Desire, a very very famous play, and the most famous play based around New Orleans (With Marlon Brando in the movie)

STELLLLAAAAA!!!!

Not sure it has anything to do with it, prolly just a coincidence, but Dave having his early life based around becoming an Actor I have a hard time believing that this would escape him.

Well someone posted this exact same thing a couple posts up before I read the whole damn thread lol

[sammitch2488]

Originally Posted by Sunkisd

I don't know if this was part of anything Dave thought about, but Stella was also the name of the lead in "streetcar Named Desire" which is in New Orleans. may jsut be a conincedence, but it worked out well.

SSSSTTTEEELLLAAA!!!

Wow I never read this post but it is erielly similar to what I just posted, funny so I'm not gonna delete it

[gsx-r6b]

Originally Posted by spoot388

there is no other reason why Dave says Stella in AP than because she wanted to be in a song. yes he found a great way to do it, but it has no metaphorical meaning for anything. its simply his daughter asked him when he was going to write a song about her, and he used exactly what she said. you people try to find a reason for EVERYTHING dont you?

I think that dave writes the music he writes for his own reasons sure. However, he is fully aware of his fan base and the fact that we will always find a reason/meaning/metaphor to each song. I don't try and find a reason i just try and relate the music to something real and not just another beat with words a la hip hop and such. i think op has a great interpretation of the song and agree with him. A way to make a great song and include Stella and NOLA. Keep up the good work Dave and we will continue to love you and your music forever!!

[crashintonickdm]

i dont like this song. its another louisiana bayou.

[dthree]

Originally Posted by crashintonickdm

i dont like this song. its another louisiana bayou.

haha you bumped this thread talking about an interpretation of this song to talk about how you dislike it?