Beauford / Lessard / Matthews / Moore / Tinsley (1999)

Unreleased

It has been said that this song was inspired from a young female fan, "Emily", who was terminally stricken with leukemia. As the story goes, her last request was to meet Dave Matthews in person, and after visiting her, he was inspired to write "Deed is Done". The song was recorded in Fall of 1995 for the "Crash" album, and was not a "road-tested" tune. It and three other songs recorded ("Help Myself," "Little Thing," and Boyd Tinsley's "True Reflections") were chosen to not be included in the album's line-up. "Deed is Done" was first played during a Dave and Tim live soundcheck for the 9.24.95 show. Has only been played twice by the full band: here and here. The song took its most popular form as a passionate Dave and Tim song where Tim could add his manic sounds to the mood of the song and where Dave has occasionally quoted lines from The Who's "Pinball Wizard". With the release of Before These Crowded Streets in April of 1998, fans heard the "Deed is Done" riff towards the end of the thirty-second jam following "Pig" on the album.