Monday, July 18, 2005

Possum Kingdom

So "Possum Kingdom" by The Toadies came on CD101 now (side note: "Black and White Town" by Doves is on now; I really like CD101). My good friends know that I have a special place in my heart for early 90's rock, probably due to whatever was going on with me in the early 90's.

"Possum Kingdom" is a bit of a dark and weird song. So I decided to look up what it might actually be about, something I should have done a LONG time ago... You see, it was always just catch to me. However, the lyrics are really really dark and kinda odd. So I found this:

Songfacts: Possum Kingdom by The Toadies

It's a little discussion of the meaning. There are a few people telling their interpretations of the song. I thought this one was oddly romantic:
I always thought it was the vampire thing. If you listen to the lyrics it sounds like hes trying to get her to like him even though hes a vampire. And when he says do you wanna die? i think he means something like do you wanna die and live forever with me. Like if he bites her she'll die but she'll be a vampire. Just my thought but i thought it out pretty well.

Like, in some weird way, that's sorta sweet. If you were a vampire, you don't really have a whole lot of options. "I love you. Die and be with me together. No? Damn... I'm so lonely"

However, a little later someone FROM TEXAS posts:
possum Kingdom, Texas is known for the horrible murders that happened in its state park. The song is the bands interpretation of what happened in those murders. The remains of a boathouse as mentioned in the song were still at the campgrounds as of 2001. The murderer supposedly lured the women to his boathouse, then raped and murdered them...

To me, this really explains the song to me. There should be no question of its meaning. Case closed, right?

But no, as in most discussion boards, it can't ever end there...
the band never did disclose the actual meaning of the song leaving it open. Another interpretation is that it is about incest, the speaker says, "I want you for mine, my flesh and blood." Although there is more than one lake named Possum Kingdom, the band in question is from Texas.

Did you even read the post just before yours that gave all the details about the Possum Kingdom murders and the remains of the boathouse that was involved in those murders? Do you really think it's all that open?

So yeah... "Possum Kingdom" is a weird friggin' song... and I think people are kinda funny.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

What murders are you talking about?? I've lived here my whole life. I'm just a few miles from the lake. I get tired of this nonsense. The song is a fantasy story that combines a number of elements. All is well here at PK, thank you very much. By the way, the Todies are great!!

Race said...

From sources in Texas, the song was about a once popular urban legend that vampires lurked around Possum Kingdom Lake. That's all.

Ted Pavlic said...

Thanks @Race. It would be nice if there was some citation that would verify all of this. Oh, well... Folklore.

Robert S. said...

Rob here I lived at PK Lake for over 10 years and hope to return home soon.
But i never heard of any murders at the lake in all the time i lived there, and i knew the security and county Deputy's who patrolled the lake area.So i think someone is making it all up.The Toadies song is just that,a song gimme a break! and for those that believe it all happened,i know where you can find a pot of gold from the leprechaun behind Hells Gate...-wink wink-

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah rob,and what about the 9foot tall hairy monster? Is he writing songs for rock bands now too?

Unknown said...

Search the internet and you can find an interview of the lead singer who wrote the song. He says he made it all up. I grew up with a lake house on PK, and there were never any murders there in a boathouse. Its a song based on nothing.

Unknown said...

The lyrics are, "I want you for mine, My Blushin' Bride" by the way, not "Flesh and blood."