Dave 175 Months Meaning And Review

Dave’s “175 Months” opens with a gospel-like intro that immediately sets the tone for what becomes one of the most emotionally charged tracks on The Boy Who Played The Harp. The opening chords and the ethereal hum of voices feel like the start of a confession, intimate, vulnerable, and spiritual. Then, without hesitation, the song plunges into heavy bass and sharp percussion, mirroring the internal conflict at its core. The sonic transition from serenity to aggression perfectly encapsulates Dave’s duality as both a reflective poet and a rage-filled realist. It is a track that refuses to sit still, wrestling between redemption and resentment, faith and fury.

A Personal Prayer in Lyrics

Lyrically, “175 Months” serves as a deeply personal prayer, a conversation between Dave and God that feels both public and private. Across three verses, he confesses his fears, sins, and spiritual fatigue, weaving scripture with street experience. Lines like "Most people, they got demons, I got angels that I fight" show how Dave flips traditional moral imagery to describe the burdens of fame and trauma. His honesty cuts through the beat like a sermon turned self-interrogation. This is not just confession for absolution, it is catharsis through confrontation, where every bar is a brick laid on the path toward understanding himself and his creator.

The Weight of Family and Loss

The emotional nucleus of the track lies in its title, "175 Months," the amount of time Dave’s older brother Christopher Omoregie has spent in prison since 2010. This grounding detail injects the song with raw reality and a familial ache that haunts every verse. When Dave reflects on grief, "Abdullah died at sixteen, and I still feel that same rage," the listener feels the weight of years compressed into seconds. It is a reminder that while success has elevated Dave materially, the pain of loss and separation remains untouched by time or fame. His voice trembles with conviction, as if each lyric were written in the blood of memory.

Turbulent Production

The production, handled by Dave himself, mirrors the song’s emotional turbulence. The gospel elements at the start and outro symbolize faith and divine connection, while the pounding bassline embodies human rage and earthly struggle. The instrumental builds and breaks like a storm, tense, unpredictable, cleansing. By the final chorus, when Dave pleads, "I’m just prayin’ that my purpose can justify my pain," the production strips back, leaving only his voice and echoes of a choir, as if even the instruments have bowed their heads in prayer.

A Confessional Masterpiece

“175 Months” stands as one of Dave’s most introspective and spiritually potent creations. It bridges the sacred and the secular, the human and the holy, crafting a dialogue that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. It is not just a song about faith, it is a song about the struggle to hold onto it in a world that constantly tests it. With its gospel-infused beginning, blistering middle, and soul-bearing close, “175 Months” captures Dave at his most confessional and courageous, a young man reckoning with God, guilt, and the ghosts of his past through the only medium powerful enough to contain it all, music.

Listen To Dave 175 Months

Dave 175 Months Lyrics Meaning Explained

The meaning of 175 Months by Dave is a deeply personal exploration of faith, grief, and responsibility. The song serves as both a confession and a conversation with God, where Dave reflects on the influence of his Christian upbringing, the guidance of his mother, and the challenges of navigating fame while staying true to his spiritual beliefs. At its core, the track is also a meditation on loss and time, referencing the incarceration of his older brother, Christopher Omoregie, for 175 months, and the deaths of childhood friends Abdullah and Stephanie. Through vivid storytelling, moral introspection, and raw emotion, Dave confronts his past mistakes, wrestles with doubt, and prays for guidance, protection, and purpose in a life marked by both success and struggle.

Intro

“Admittance is the key to start the healin' right / But I didn't wanna eat that humble pie, no, I” opens the track as a self-directed sermon. Healing starts with honesty, “admittance,” but pride makes confession difficult. The “humble pie” line is a metaphor for accepting accountability, showing that humility is required for growth. Dave sets a confessional tone immediately, establishing that the song will be both personal and reflective.

Verse One

The first verse begins with, “Father God, forgive me / It's been a couple years, there may be more that I ain't prayed.” Dave admits to spiritual neglect, acknowledging that he has not maintained consistent contact with God. This is reinforced in the lines, “Even longer I ain't been to church, God, I'm ashamed / Embarrassed of my ways, but still, I'm asking for Your grace,” where he expresses guilt yet continues to reach for forgiveness.

“Feel like I been led astray / By the drinkin' and the spirits I let take me when I ride / And the ladies in the night” reflects his indulgences in alcohol, temptation, and lust, with “spirits” acting as a double meaning for both alcohol and evil influences. The line, “Most people, they got demons, I got angels that I fight / Tryna save you from my pli’,” presents a paradoxical struggle, showing that he resists what is good for him while protecting others from his internal chaos.

“I pray I make it to the light / South London where we lie” uses “light” as a symbol of salvation, while “lie” carries a double meaning of both resting place and moral ambiguity. The verse continues, “Abdullah died at sixteen, and I still feel that same rage / Cah we all gettin' older and he still the same age,” referencing the death of his childhood friend Abdullah and the enduring anger and grief that remain frozen in time. “It's his twenty-seventh birthday, and in his pic, he's fourteen / Back when we would all dream” emphasizes lost innocence, with a photograph acting as a memory capsule.

“There's Stephanie, she left at fourteen / And he lived at number seventeen, and I was number twelve” continues this reflection on lost childhood friends, grounding grief in the reality of South London streets. The lines, “When I used to think that if I'd skip church, I go to Hell / So when they ask about grief and how it feels, I know it well,” recall childhood faith instilled through fear and shape his understanding of loss and morality. “I missed his tenth anniversary in 2024 / I know the value of this picture, we ain't gettin' any more” captures the finality of loss, while “Then I go, and I get angry, God, like, 'Why'd you take him for?' He was just a baby” shows him confronting God with grief and confusion. “All these emotions that I'm feelin', it's the strength I pray for / God, for anyone that's with us that can vouch I pray for / Pray that I feel less lonely in this house I prayed for” reflects his understanding that emotional endurance and connection are what he seeks from faith, not just material success.

Verse Two

Verse two opens with, “With this cross that you bear on me / Can you look after my mum? She probably used her last prayer on me.” Dave acknowledges the burden of fame and the prayers his mother has devoted to him. The line, “Can't let the Devil in, there's repentance in the Bible, God, remind my ex of this,” plays with wordplay, with “ex of this” evoking the book of Exodus.

“Feel like we was meant for this, move mountains and boulders / We had a [?] our parents getting older, may they never need a shoulder” blends ambition with concern for aging parents, expressing maturity and responsibility. He reflects on personal flaws in “I done shit I can't condone, real sermons on my own / I'm in church, more worried 'bout the service on my phone,” highlighting distraction and self-condemnation.

Judgment, loss, and hypocrisy are explored in the lines, “And on Judgement Day, are You gonna write it in my sins? / Cah my nigga, he got cancer, and I'm lyin' to his kids / God, I'm tryin', but it hits me in my heart / I done lost so many niggas that's been with me from the start.” Dave grapples with moral dilemmas and grief simultaneously. He admits to wanting change without effort in, “Then I pray for quick change and I ain't even try it fast,” and recognizes his own fragility in “All I ever did was ask, shattered glass, crucifixes on my chest.” Materialism and spiritual conflict collide in “Pray to purchase a Patek, for my church, they cut a check,” and ethical reflection appears in, “How am I tryna pray for Congo with these diamonds on my neck?” which references exploitation in the diamond trade.

Family and legacy take center stage in, “There's a father and there's a son / Pray that I can show him how to love a woman through his mum / Because I never got the chance, and I just want the best / For my three little nieces that I carry on my chest,” where he expresses the desire to break generational cycles and protect the next generation. Dave also highlights humility and gratitude with, “I'm prayin' for my managers, I'm prayin' for their wives / 'Cause God knows that they're the ones that sacrifice their lives / I would've said their names, but God, you know who I mean.”

He balances spiritual reflection with guilt over indulgence in, “I had a steak at Carbone, and didn't pray before I eat / It's like I call You when I need You, and I don't, we don't speak.” Luxury and distraction are contrasted with spiritual neglect. “Ground rules for my niggas found schools back at Lambeth Town Hall / I helped him pray, but didn't know it was on my downfall” illustrates his attempts to guide his community while remaining unaware of unintended consequences.

Chorus

“When no blood is in my veins, numbers on my days / Will I say I love this life of rain? / I'm just prayin' that my purpose can justify my pain” acts as the thematic core of the song. Dave questions mortality, evaluates hardship, and seeks meaning in suffering, hoping that his experiences serve a higher purpose.

Verse Three

Verse three begins with childhood memory and religious influence: “My mum used to creep in my room and put oil and a cross on my head / Anoint me and probably read / A verse like Psalm 23 / 'The Lord is my shepherd', and maybe Matthew 4 / 'The word is my weapon tonight'.” Psalm 23 symbolizes protection, Matthew 4 temptation, and the anointing demonstrates early spiritual guidance. “If I can't pray for peace, then I just pray we win the war” reflects acceptance of conflict when ideal outcomes seem impossible, while “It's been twenty-six years, I don't know what I'm fightin' for” conveys weariness and doubt. He questions religious comfort with, “Well, maybe it's a place to fill your ever-lastin' lie / In a world where kids that die get a second chance at life,” exposing personal uncertainty while acknowledging hope.

Dave continues, “Christ, I don't know what to say to You / I pray to You forgive me for the days I had a reason to / And I ain't had faith in You, You did it for the sake of me / And how I've forsaken You, I prayed for new / Shoes and I used them to walk away from You,” which demonstrates regret and awareness of misused blessings. “Made it out with drugs, swapped the pen for the needles / And I just found a different way to poison my people” reflects on escaping street life but recognizing that his influence can still cause harm. Finally, “You could say it's testimony that I'm tellin' them my story / But how we sellin' them the Devil, still giving God the glory? Can I pray?” is a self-aware critique of profiting from sin while maintaining faith.

Outro

The outro, with repeated lines of “Take care of me,” is a simple, heartfelt plea for protection. After a track filled with introspection, grief, doubt, and confession, these words distill the essence of the song: human vulnerability and the desire for guidance and care in an uncertain world.

Dave 175 Months Lyrics 

[Intro]

Admittance is the key to start the healin' right

But I didn't wanna eat that humble pie, no, I

[Verse 1: Dave]

Father God, forgive me

It's been a couple years, there may be more that I ain't prayed

Even longer I ain't been to church, God, I'm ashamed

Embarrassed of my ways, but still, I'm asking for Your grace

Feel like I been led astray

By the drinkin' and the spirits I let take me when I ride

And the ladies in the night

Most people, they got demons, I got angels that I fight

Tryna save you from my pli'

I pray I make it to the light

South London where we lie

Abdullah died at sixteen, and I still feel that same rage

Cah we all gettin' older and he still the same age

It's his twenty-seventh birthday, and in his pic, he's fourteen

Back when we would all dream

There's Stephanie, she left at fourteen

And he lived at number seventeen, and I was number twelve

When I used to think that if I'd skip church, I go to Hell

So when they ask about grief and how it feels, I know it well

I missed his tenth anniversary in 2024

I know the value of this picture, we ain't gettin' any more

Then I go, and I get angry, God, like, "Why'd you take him for?" He was just a baby

All these emotions that I'm feelin', it's the strength I pray for

God, for anyone that's with us that can vouch I pray for

Pray that I feel less lonely in this house I prayed for

I pray that

[Verse 2: Dave]

Yeah

With this cross that you bear on me

Can you look after my mum? She probably used her last prayer on me

Can't let the Devil in, there's repentance in the Bible, God, remind my ex of this

Feel like we was meant for this, move mountains and boulders

We had a [?] our parents getting older, may they never need a shoulder

I done shit I can't condone, real sermons on my own

I'm in church, more worried 'bout the service on my phone

And on Judgement Day, are You gonna write it in my sins?

Cah my nigga, he got cancer, and I'm lyin' to his kids

God, I'm tryin', but it hits me in my heart

I done lost so many niggas that's been with me from the start

Then I pray for quick change and I ain't even try it fast

All I ever did was ask, shattered glass, crucifixes on my chest

Pray to purchase a Patek, for my church, they cut a check

How am I tryna pray for Congo with these diamonds on my neck?

There's a father and there's a son

Pray that I can show him how to love a woman through his mum

Because I never got the chance, and I just want the best

For my three little nieces that I carry on my chest

I'm prayin' for my managers, I'm prayin' for their wives

'Cause God knows that they're the ones that sacrifice their lives

I would've said their names, but God, you know who I mean

I'm prayin' for my brothers, God, protect us on the streets

I had a steak at Carbone, and didn't pray before I eat

It's like I call you when I need you, and I don't, we don't speak

Ground rules for my niggas found schools back at Lambeth Town Hall

I helped him pray, but didn't know it was on my downfall, so when I'm ice-cold

[Chorus: Dave]

When no blood is in my veins, numbers on my days

Will I say I love this life of rain?

I'm just prayin' that my purpose can justify my pain

I'm just prayin' that my purpose can justify my pain

[Verse 3: Dave]

My mum used to creep in my room and put oil and a cross on my head

Anoint me and probably read a verse like Psalm 23

"The Lord is my shepherd", and maybe Matthew 4

"The word is my weapon tonight"

If I can't pray for peace, then I just pray we win the war

It's been twenty-six years, I don't know what I'm fightin' for

Well, maybe it's a place to fill your ever-lastin' lie

In a world where kids that die get a second chance at life

Christ, I don't know what to say to You

I pray to You forgive me for the days I had a reason to

And I ain't had faith in You, You did it for the sake of me

And how I've forsaken You, I prayed for new

Shoes and I used them to walk away from You

Made it out with drugs, swapped the pen for the needles

And I just found a different way to poison my people

You could say it's testimony that I'm tellin' them my story

But how we sellin' them the Devil, still giving God the glory? Can I pray?

[Outro]

Ooh, ooh, oh, ooh

Take care of me

Ooh, ooh, oh, ooh

Can I, can I go on to put the drums on top of both of those [?]?

But yeah, yeah, it's [?] bzz-bzz-k

Ooh, ooh, oh, ooh

Take care of me

Ooh, ooh, oh, ooh

Take care of me

Ooh