Album: Yerself Is Steam
First some notes on this song... Chris in France posted some insight into the lyrics to the Rev mailing list: "David Baker in 1993 or 1994, i can't remember, was interviewed in the french mag "Les inrockuptibles" (a french joke very difficult to translate) and said VSR was about a man in his town who was very nice. But in fact some years after they've known he was a psycho killer and he (baker) said he (the killer) was like a river, sometimes very sleepy but one time in the year you have a flood he kills in fact."
Vegard Bakke Bjerkevik kindly adds the following notes and lyric transcription...
during the last few days i've been trying to work out the lyrics for very sleepy rivers. as you would expect, my findings are nowhere near complete, and i hope you guys can help me fill in the blanks and correct my mistakes.
i think it was chris who recently claimed that vsr is about a killer, and i guess that makes sense when you look at the lyrics. a very sleepy river/place could be a symbol of death, and the first lines (if i've got it right) sounds like a killer closing in on his victim, a young (innocent) girl. killer takes innocent girl to river, she wants her daddy, he kills her and gets rid of the body by submerging it into a very sleepy place. the music is quite creepy as well. anyway, here are my results:
* means i'm not very sure 'bout this word or phrase
? means there is a word or two missing here
??? means there's a lot of words missing
(0:00)
(1:00)
*I sensed a new scent
*So innocent and bent.
*I sense a new scent that's innocent and spent.
I feel good. Not so good.
Very Sleepy Rivers
A very sleepy place
Very Sleepy Rivers
A very sleepy place
milk silver and sulk
(2:00)
fish in warm clear liquid
I feel so wet.
I feel kinda misguided.
Very Sleepy River
A very sleepy place
Very Sleepy River
A very sleepy place (kinda thing)
very sleepy river
very sleepy river
(it's just a thing)
very sleepy river
(just a thing)
a very sleepy thing..thing..thing
a very sleepy place
very sleepy...
(3:00)
(a very sleepy river)
a very sleepy river
*a place a place
a verbal trashing
a verbal trashing
a verbal trashing
a verbal trashing
a verbal trashing
milk silver and sulk
*nothing quivers
a very sleepy river
a river ?
*burn burn burn
???
space
words tumble from me
a very sleepy river
words tumble from me
a very sleepy place
(4:00)
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy place
stop all that twitching
I'm alright ?
a twisted thing
a laughing ?
disregard
disregard
very sleepy rivers remind me of falling down
very ???
the water's wet and i want my daddy
???
(5:00)
???
very rusty very rusty very...very lusty
very sleepy lusty (lusty lusty lusty)
i wish everything was lusty
lusty
i believe in color
i believe in *color
i believe in coming unglued
i believe ? *when you're far away
*your father waiting ?
in a very sleepy place
a very sleepy river
(6:00)
a very sleepy place
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy...place
???
very sleepy cushy wave
a very sleepy place
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy...
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy place
(7:00)
a very sleepy place
???
*innocent
*my scent
innocent
*repent
*innocent
*my scent
innocent
i feel spent
???
(8:00)
???
submerged in a very sleepy place
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy river
???
very..sleepy..space
(9:00)
?
cushy
???
innocent
*my scent
innocent
*repent
innocent
*my scent
innocent
*repent
i believe in *love
(10:00)
a very sleepy river
a very sleepy river...
a very sleepy space
???
in a very crazy
???
(11:00)
*kick the brain
writhing like a whore
very sleepy river
very sleepy place
a very sleepy river
???
very sleepy...
(12:00)
(end)