Rapunzel (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Rapunzel


Artist = Dave Matthews Band
from Album =
Before These Crowded Streets
Released = 1998
Format = CD single
Recorded = Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY
Genre = Rock
Length = 4:50 (radio edit) 6:00 (album)
Label = RCA
Producer = Steve Lillywhite
Last single = "Crush"
(1998)
This single = "Rapunzel"
(1999)
Next single = "I Did It"
(2001)
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = Before These Crowded Streets
Type = studio
prev_track = "Pantala Naga Pampa"
prev_no = Track 1
this_track = "Rapunzel"
track_no = Track 2
next_track = "The Last Stop"
next_no = Track 3Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = Single


Lower caption = CD RSP-67548-2 Extra tracklisting
Album = The Best of What's Around Vol. 1
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Too Much"
prev_no = Track 4
this_track = "Rapunzel"
track_no = Track 5
next_track = "Crush"
next_no = Track 6

"Rapunzel" is the second track and was the last single of the Dave Matthews Band 1998 album, "Before These Crowded Streets". It is featured on the Dave Matthews Band compilation album "The Best of What's Around Vol. 1".

Originally titled "Funk in 5", "Rapunzel" evolved from an instrumental jam that the band had played live in 1994. Four years later, the jam was reworked in the studio and lyrics were added to complete the track. The song was released as the band's fourth and final single off this album; however, it never became a hit on the radio. At the end of the song, Dave's voice can be heard speaking on the phone with someone while people are arguing in the background with some Egyptian noises.

This track directly segues into the following track, "The Last Stop"—thus the aforementioned "Egyptian noises." The song also features Butch Taylor on the organ.

It is also worth mentioning of the use of its unusual time signature, which is 5/4 for the intro, 4/4 for the verses, and 6/8 for the bridge.

In concert

When played live by the band, the song is always preceded by "Pantala Naga Pampa," which segues into the song, similarly to the way the two appear on "Before These Crowded Streets". There is a jam section at the closing of the piece including a soprano saxophone solo by LeRoi Moore; a brief jam is heard on the studio version.

Track listing

#"Rapunzel" (Edit) — 4:50
#"Rapunzel" (Album Version) — 6:00