The Idea of You

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"The Idea of You" is a song performed by Dave Matthews Band, written by Dave Matthews. It debuted live on June 2, 2006 at the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana ^[1] and has yet to appear on a studio album.

1 Song explanation
2 Official live releases
3 Instruments
4 References

[edit] Song explanation

The lyrics talk about a boy who has become infatuated with a girl. He can't get his mind off her and has fallen completely head over heels. Later, the girl falls in love with him, but then he realizes that he really didn't love her to begin with. He merely loved the idea of her. However, since the song has yet to be officially released as a studio track, the lyrics can be found to change from show to show ^[2]. Sometimes there is a final verse after the bridge (2007 renditions) or the band just plays it out with no lyrics (2006 renditions).

Matthews has stated that the song was about his childhood baby sitter. Many times before performing the song he will say:

"This is a song about my baby sitter when I was a little kid." ^[3]

It seems the song can be taken two ways: as a fond remembrance of a childhood crush or as an illicit immoral obsession from an older man for a younger girl. Matthews has yet to release a full statement on the official lyrics or the in-depth story behind the baby sitter.

[edit] Official live releases

The Idea of You has appeared on three Live Trax albums to date: Live Trax Vol. 6 recorded on July 7, 2006 at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts, twice on Live Trax Vol. 9 recorded on March 23 and March 24, 2006 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Live Trax Vol. 10 recorded on May 25, 2007 at Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon, Portugal. The version from Live Trax Vol. 6 is considered by fans one of the best performances of the song since its first showing.

[edit] Instruments

Dave Matthews uses a Veillette soprano 12-string guitar for this song. The guitar is tuned to high D, and although Dave uses it for other songs in soundchecks, the only other song that the Veillette is always used for is Shotgun.