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Classic Songs
Revisited
Ants Marching
written by David J. Matthews
produced by Steve Lillywhite
As it turns out, along with “Spring Love” by The Cover Girls—the
song I catalogued in The Sequential List just before this one—it
didn’t take long to find another suitable song for the month of
March... even if this one sort of comes in the form of a pun. Yes, pun
intended; my apologies. DMB’s “Ants Marching,” nonetheless, is a delightful song from their delightful first full-length album (Under The Table And Deaming—a jumble of five words found in the lyrics to this song). Although before nailing their record deal with the industry giant RCA and releasing any complete records, DMB holds a semi-unique distinction of releasing both a live album and an extended play, on their own independent Bama Rags label.
Dave had his writing credits on the DMB records given him as David J. (John) Matthews. He himself was in fact born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1967. Growing up, he located and relocated a number of times to New York, England and back to the States, to Virginia, where he got started in the music biz. By the early ’90s, he’d begun forming his own band. 1994 brought him his RCA deal.
To put the DMB’s success in perspective, every one of their studio albums starting with 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets nailed #1 on the US albums chart. It’s interesting to think that DMB, the group, are and sound really all-American, while the man, the moniker, the legend himself, is in fact not. And that’s before we even get to their scores of hit singles, including no fewer than nine Adult Alternative #1s, a chart “Ants Marching” missed—though the song broke top 40 on five charts, including Canada’s.
Though there’ve been many, DMB’s always been a particular favorite of a middle school friend I’ve mentioned in a few song entries, a person who is the reason several of these selections have been brought to my attention. I’m rather certain DMB has been his favorite for the longest amount of time, for what it’s worth.
Have notes to add? Let me know!
YT:
1994
Lyrics
He wakes up in the morning / Does his teeth, bite to eat, and he’s rolling / Never changes a thing / The week ends, the week begins, she thinks / We look at each other / Wondering what the other is thinking / But we never say a thing / And these crimes between us grow deeper / Take these chances / Place them in a box until a quieter time / Lights down, you up and die / Goes to visit his mommy, she / Feeds him well his concerns, he forgets them / And remembers being small / Playing under the table and dreaming / x1 / Driving in on this highway / All these cars, and up on the sidewalk / People in every direction / No words exchanged, no time to exchange / When all the little ants are marching / Red and black antennae waving / They all do it the same / They all do it the same way, yeah / Candyman tempting the thoughts of a / Sweet tooth tortured by the weight loss / Program cutting the corner / There’s a loose end, loose end, cut, cut / On the fence, could not to offend / Cut, cut, cut, cut / x1 / Lights down, you up and die
first release: Under The Table And Dreaming (1994/09/27)
audio treated sample
This song was originally made on July 3rd, 2021 and last edited on July 23rd, 2021