Dam That River

Track 2 on Dirt

Produced by

The song has two popular interpretations; one is which Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney get into an altercation, and Kinney breaks a coffee table over Cantrell’s head. The… Read More

Sep. 29, 19921 viewer47.6K views

Dam That River Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I broke you in the canyon
I drowned you in the lake
You, a snake that I would trample
Only thing I'd not embrace

[Chorus]
Oh, you couldn't dam that river
And maybe I don't give a damn anyway
So you couldn't dam that river
And it washed me so far away

[Verse 2]
I pushed and then you stumbled
I kicked you in the face
You stared at me so hollow
Got to keep that killing pace

[Chorus]
Oh, you couldn't dam that river
And maybe I don't give a damn anyway
So you couldn't dam that river
And it washed me so far away

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
I burned the place around you
I hit you with a rake
You piss upon my candle
So proving you're a fake

[Chorus]
Oh, you couldn't dam that river
And maybe I don't give a damn anyway
So you couldn't dam that river
And it washed me so far away

About

The song has two popular interpretations; one is which Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney get into an altercation, and Kinney breaks a coffee table over Cantrell’s head. The song is a metaphor for revenge, with the inability to ‘dam the river’ symbolizing the uncontrolled bleeding from Cantrell’s head.

The second interpretation is the song being a metaphor for the Green River Killer, who was notorious during the mid-80’s to late-90’s.