Mouth of the River Lyrics
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
I wanna live a life like that
Live the life of the faithful one
Wanna bow to the floor
With everybody else wanna be someone
I wanna make some love
I don't want no enemies
Oh, it's the curse of the man
Always living life, living life, living just to please
Oh, the mouth of the river
And the wrath of the giver
With the hands of a sinner
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
And the wrath of the giver
With the hands of a sinner
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, I'm alkaline
I'm always keeping to the basics
I'm overboard
I'm self-destructive
And self-important
And I'm anxious
Oh, I'm self-assured
I'm nervous
And I'm pacing, oh, I'm pacing
Oh, the mouth of the river
And the wrath of the giver
With the hands of a sinner
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
And the wrath of the giver
With the hands of a sinner
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
And I am going under
Oh, I am going under
I am going under
Oh, I am going under
I am going under
Oh, the mouth of the river
And the wrath of the giver
With the hands of a sinner
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
And the wrath of the giver
With the hands of a sinner
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
Oh, the mouth of the river
In the first verse Dan sings about a religious man;
"Live the life of the faithful one Wanna bow to the floor."
In the rest of the verse he is critical about modern society. Then the chorus starts about the 'mouth of the river', 'wrath of the giver' and 'hands of a sinner'.
Well first 'mouth of the river': I guess this refers to the biblical paradise. In the bible the paradise is located at the point where two rivers (Euphrates and Tigris) meet.
Then 'wrath of the giver'. Which obviously refers to the biblical God who banished Adam and Eve from this paradise.
And finally 'hands of a sinner'. This is a reference to the action which led to the exile of paradise; eating from the forbidden tree.
So I guess it's a biblical song which would make sense because of Dan's Christian background.
@PlaceCalledTomorrow I agree. I also think “by the hands of a sinner” is meant to be anyone (him, you, me). This way making the personal connection.
@PlaceCalledTomorrow I agree. I also think “by the hands of a sinner” is meant to be anyone (him, you, me). This way making the personal connection.
Mouth of the River, to me, is about the duality of man. It is about feeling as though you have two different parts of you that, despite all stemming from the same source, are incompatible. It talks specifically about religion, probably in reference to Dan Reynolds's religious upbringing.
The first verse itself kicks itself off by introducing religion. He talks about how he wants to be religious, "wanna bow to the floor with everybody else," but then contradicts itself immediately--"wanna be someone."
The next line I interpret as rather personal to Reynolds's life, but I'm not deadset. "Wanna make some love" could be in reference to how he got kicked out of his Mormon school for having had sex with his long term, high school girlfriend. The next line would be the contradictions I was talking about, because to him, he cannot make love and not have enemies. Just as easily, though, these lines could be trying to say the same thing, depending on interpretation.
"On the mouth of the river" would refer to where he is at life--he is always at a point where he can make a decision, but not a crossroads. He is at a place where he has to look out into the wide ocean and make a decision about where he will go. He cannot be in all places at once, but he wants to be everywhere. Despite the fact that there are no walls between the two sides of himself--no walls in the ocean at all--he still has to make a choice.
"Oh I'm alkaline" is my favorite line due to it being a pun. "Alkaline" is a chemistry term for a solution that has a pH greater than 7, aka a basic solution. This is in reference to the next line, "I'm always sticking to the basics." As with all of the song, though, this part of him is immediately contradicted: "I'm overboard." It's pretty hard to be both simple and complex. Then, "I'm self-destructive and self-important." These aren't necessarily exact opposites of each other, I do believe that they can exist within a person simultaneously, but it's pretty rare to find yourself both building yourself up and breaking yourself down. Anxious and self assured are opposites, and the final lines in this verse I think is just his own reconciliation (or lack thereof) of all this contradiction within himself.
The rest of the song is just various parts being repeated, but I do think the line, "Oh I am going under," deserves some analysis. I don't think this strictly means hell. Reynolds has been very open about his struggle with mental health, and I think that this line refers to how, so long as this contradiction exists, he is in a no-win situation. Sure, given the religious overtones of the song, it probably does refer on some level to hell--but maybe the opposite of that is socially and financially, as he doesn't believe he can handle his fame and appease his religion at the same time.
Overwhelmingly, it's not just a song about religion--again, it is a song about duality and contradiction, with religion playing a main part in that.
The ‘mouth of the river’ is where a river ends and joins the ocean. It is a passage from one body of water into another, a point of transformation. The ‘mouth of the river’ is also called a ‘delta’. Delta literally means ‘change’. The singer is ON the mouth of the river and thus at a turning point in his life. Analyzing the rest of the song he is probably at the end of his life and is about to face judgement by God.
In the first verse he talks about how in order to have everything he says he ‘wants’ (life of the faithful one, be someone etc.) he must sacrifice much more (too much) of what makes him who he is. Living just to please is a curse because you never develop your own individuality. In a sense, you would never have truly lived.
In the second verse he talks about having extreme opposite personality traits. It seems he deems these qualities to be ‘bad’. These are probably some of the traits that causes him not to achieve what he ‘wanted’ in the first verse. He nervously awaits God to confirm what he already suspects.
The chorus sets the scene: it’s judgement time (mouth of the river), God is extremely angry (wrath of the giver) and he is the one God is angry at (hands of a sinner).
At the end of the song we see that he receives judgement and is going to hell (‘And I’m going under’).
In short, this is a song about feeling inadequate and ashamed for not being able to live up to the expectations of others, God and probably himself. The writer expects punishment from God and ultimately receives it.