Today I take one step further down the dark road of overanalyzing pop songs from the 90’s. Suffice it to say that Danielle’s recent list assignment (Top Five Pop Songs of the 90’s) has taken on a life all its own. What was supposed to just be another one-off deal now has the potential to become a new bit, picking up where “Songs I Miss From Bands Who’ve Disappeared” left off.
Things are getting interesting around here, so join me now on a voyage back to 1995.
Today, we’re going to be taking a look at American rock outfit Seven Mary Three and their seminal track “Water’s Edge.” The song was the second single off their album American Standard. Though the first single, “Cumbersome,” made it to number one, this far superior jam peaked at #7.
I swear, this song is my fucking song. Every time I go to a bar, the first thing I do is check the jukebox for it. If it’s not there, I sulk back to my seat and drink away the evening, complaining about the shit everyone else is playing. If it is there, I play it no less than four times in a row. The only thing better than the confused look on people’s faces when they hear that opening riff for the second time is seeing their faces when they hear it for the third time. Nothing kills a party like a 13 year old rock song being played repeatedly.
Water’s Edge tells the story of a guy who goes down to the water’s edge and sees something bad happen to a woman. He didn’t do it, but he saw who did. This son of a bitch witnesses a murder, but he’s afraid to tell anyone who did it, but he decides it’s a good idea to write a song about his experiences.
Finally, at long last, we have a coward’s anthem. For ages, people with no spine never really had any musical approximation of how they felt, but now that’s changed. Those who want to take a stand have Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” those who are really insecure but want everyone else to think they believe in themselves have R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly,” women on their period have Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed,” and now cowards who witness a violent crime have Seven Mary Three’s “Water’s Edge.”
When you grow up and learn and use the word “cumbersome” in regular conversation, the song “cumbersome” becomes even more retarded. It’s like Seven Mary Three just picked up a thesaurus and discovered the word.
I have to respectfully disagree with your opinion this song. To me, this song combines two awesome things–the 1986 Keanu Reeves film River’s Edge and Neil Young’s “Down By the River”–and puts them in a grungified Lynyrd Skynyrd-meets-Pearl-Jam shit stew.
But boy did I love this song back in the day! I like your take on it being a “coward’s anthem”–that’s fucking hilarious! It’s like, “Dude, some chick was murdered? Aren’t you going to do something? Are you going to call the cops?” “No man. I didn’t do anything. Just listen to me. Don’t go down to the water’s edge. That’s all I want to say.”
cumbersome is a good song.
No it’s not. I say!
I’ve got to side with Joel on this one. Sorry Spread my smegma.