Gravedigger (song)

"Gravedigger" is a song by Dave Matthews from his debut solo album, Some Devil. This was the first single released by Matthews aside from the Dave Matthews Band, and it won a Grammy Award in 2003 for "Best Male Rock Performance." The song has been performed live at Dave Matthews & Friends concerts and occasionally as an acoustic solo by Matthews during Dave Matthews Band shows.

A music video was produced for the song. While filming the video, Matthews lost his wedding ring in the grave, though it was eventually recovered. The video, much like the song, is particularly dark for a Dave Matthews presentation. Elements within the video, such as a hand wielding a key, symbolize death. Lyrics describe an aspiring young boy who dies and the subsequent mourning of his parents.

The song also has an acoustic version on the album Some Devil. The song began as an intro played twice by Matthews at full-band shows in the spring of 2002, before debuting as a full song in the same tour. In the original "Gravedigger Intro" version, only two people are mentioned: Merrill Lee (1905 - 1969) and Robert John Smith (1946 - ).

Willie Nelson recently did his own version of the song that appeared in the 2008 album, Moment of Forever. There is also a music video, directed by Dean Karr, for this song as well.