Genre Rock Label RCA | Length 6:57 Writer(s) David J. Matthews | |
Released April 28, 1998 (1998-04-28) Studio The Plant Studios, Sausalito, California
Electric Lady Studios, New York City | ||
"Spoon" is a Dave Matthews Band song from the album Before These Crowded Streets. The song is thought to describe the thoughts of Christ as he is pinned to the crucifix. Throughout the song, Christ contemplates such ideas as whether the human race is worth "saving" and whether his father is God, as he ponders his own existence. Dave Matthews used Peter Gabriel's song "The Passion" as an inspiration for this song.
The song features Alanis Morissette on background vocals and one verse, and Béla Fleck on the banjo. A 1:30 reprise to "The Last Stop" is featured as a hidden track following a minute of silence after the song.
"Spoon" has been performed live as early as 1997, where it was played acoustically as a solo by Dave Matthews, or an acoustic duet with Tim Reynolds. The song debuted live by the band in the summer of 1998; however, drummer Carter Beauford did not perform as he was bothered by a large amount of crickets crawling around the stage. The song was only played two more times that year by the band, and then a handful of times more the following year during acoustic shows by Matthews and Reynolds.
Since then, the song was not played until late 2003, where it was performed only ten times, lastly on September 14. A live performance from 2003 was featured on the pre-order disc for The Central Park Concert.
1791 days after being last played, Spoon returned on August 9, 2008. The show would later be released as Live Trax Vol. 15 on June 2, 2009. It was played again on September 10 at the Stand Up for a Cure concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ingrid Michaelson, who played as the opening act, guested with the band.
Brandi Carlile guests on Spoon in Noblesville, IN on 6/22/2013.