Possum Kingdom
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| “Possum Kingdom” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Toadies from the album Rubberneck |
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| Released | 1993-1994 | |
| Genre | Grunge | |
| Length | 5:09 | |
| Label | Interscope | |
| Writer(s) | The Toadies | |
| Producer | Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf | |
- For the State Park in Texas, see Possum Kingdom State Park.
"Possum Kingdom" is the first single from the Toadies' 1994 album Rubberneck. The song's origins lie in folklore from the band's native state of Texas. Possum Kingdom Lake is a lake in North Texas near Fort Worth, the origin of the band, known for its golf courses and weekend resorts.
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[edit] Music video
The music video for '"Possum Kingdom" begins with a body bag being dragged from a lake, then pans to the lead singer, Todd Lewis, singing in a dark room. It then pans to a shot of the band performing in a small venue with several dozen dancing fans. The individual who dragged the body bag from the river then opens it to reveal a block of ice. The person then takes an ice pick and hacks away until the form of a woman's face is created. The video ends with a drop of water streaming down the ice.
[edit] History
This song has had its fair share of controversy as to the meaning of the song. The top theories of what the song means seem to be that it is about a vampire, the Zodiac Killer, an odd sexual encounter or a man who experiences a botched attempt at seducing a woman. In a 1995 interview by Jennifer Clay, bassist Lisa Umbarger and guitarist Todd Lewis gave these statements about the song:
Umbarger said, "They're just these silly stories he's (Todd) heard his family tell. Like 'Tyler' and 'Possum Kingdom' are just like stories...In Texas, there's just this big storytelling thing - whenever your family gets together, they sit and talk and tell all these stories. 'Possum Kingdom' is a ghost story."
Lewis said jokingly "Possum Kingdom is a lake. One of the ten best fishin' spots in the U.S. Is it about a ghost or vampire at the lake? I don't know."
"It's not about vampires," Umbarger insists. "Even though we have a big underground vampire following in Florida. They come with their teeth and everything. I'm not lying about that, that's a real story. They'll show up and you'll be talking to someone, and they'll smile and it's like, 'Jesus Christ! You've got fangs!' And they're like, 'Yeah. It's a vampire thing.' So we have this big vampire underground following, and 'Possum Kingdom' has kind of stirred it up."
"It's just a story I heard long ago; it's just a really cool, eerie lake, and some stuff I heard and some stuff I just make up. I tend to do that," Lewis explains about the watering hole where his family used to hang out and barbecue. "They dammed up this big river up there, and it's got all these spooky names like Hell's Gate. It's really cool."
[edit] Trivia
- It was the most successful single released by Toadies, reaching #4 on the Modern Rock Charts, and still receives occasional airplay.
- "Possum Kingdom" was named after Possum Kingdom State Park, in Palo Pinto County, Texas
- "Possum Kingdom" is featured in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II.
- The song has been covered by The Wildhearts on their new album of covers, Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before, Vol 1.
[edit] External links
- http://www.musicfanclubs.org/toadies/toadies/ripart.txt - An article and interview with the Toadies.
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