(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River
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| "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River" | ||
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| Single by TISM | ||
| from the album Machiavelli and the Four Seasons | ||
| B-side(s) | Abcess Makes The Heart Grow Fonder Dicktatorship |
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| Released | December 6, 1995 | |
| Format | CD Single | |
| Recorded | Platinum Studios | |
| Genre | Alternative rock | |
| Length | 7:12 | |
| Label | Shock/genre b.goode | |
| Writer(s) | TISM | |
| Producer(s) | Lawrence Maddy | |
| TISM singles chronology | ||
| Let's Form A Company (1990) |
(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River (1995) |
Greg! The Stop Sign!! (1995) |
(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River was the first single to be released off Machiavelli and the Four Seasons (1995) by Australian alternative rock band TISM.
The title never appears in the song, and due to this, it is commonly (though incorrectly) referred to as I'm On The Drug That Killed River Phoenix. The title references the play Show Boat and the famous song Ol' Man River, indicating that River Phoenix will never be an "ol' man" because he died at age 23 of a drug overdose.
It is arguably TISM's most popular track, or at least, most well known, as it reached #9 in Triple J's 1995 Hottest 100, one number ahead of Greg! The Stop Sign!!. In 2002, the band performed the song on John Safran's Music Jamboree.
Contents |
[edit] Song
The song opens with the refrain I'm on the drug that killed River Phoenix and, as the song continues, the singer reveals that he is taking drugs which have killed celebrities and attempting to follow suit with other methods which have killed celebrities, presumably to achieve the sort of fame they have.
One of the more memorable verses encapsulates this:
I drank the slab that Bon Scott drunk;
Injected some of Hendrix' junk;
I booked a seat on Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane;
Mama Cass's sandwich? I ate the same!
He eventually gets bored with attempting celebrity suicide but realises there "is no stoppin'", and spirals out of control with his celebrity habits until he reaches the heights of Michael Jackson's addiction, rumoured at the time to be under-age children.
[edit] Controversy
Not unique for TISM, controversy surrounded the release of this track. The main lyric I'm on the drug that killed River Phoenix enraged a number of people, even reportedly reaching the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who TISM subsequently invited to a fist-fight.
[edit] Trivia
This single was issued with two covers. Prior to the "pills" version was the infamous "tombstone" cover which was withdrawn due to the shameless lack of taste it displayed.
 The infamous "tombstone" cover |
[edit] Track list
- "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River"
- "Abcess Makes The Heart Grow Fonder"
- "Dicktatorship"
