River Below

"River Below"
Single by Billy Talent
From the album Billy Talent
Released	2004
Format	DVD Single CD single 7" Vinyl
Genre	Alternative rock, Punk
Length	3:00
Label	Atlantic Records
Writers	Billy Talent
Producers	?
Director	?
Certification	?
Chart positions	#70 (UK)
Billy Talent singles chronology
"The Ex" 2004	"River Below" 2004	"Nothing to Lose" 2004
Billy Talent track listing
"The Ex" 6	"River Below" 7	"Standing in the Rain" 8

River Below is a song by the Canadian band Billy Talent, released in late spring of 2004. It became one of the most talked about songs on their album and was played on MuchMusic more than any previous releases. River Below has been played at a variety of events after it's video and radio releases, including the Juno and MuchMusic video awards.

Track listing

CD

1. River Below (Album Version)
2. Lies (Acoustic)

7" Vinyl

1. River Below (Album Version)
2. Standing In The Rain (Acoustic)

DVD

1. River Below (Album Version)
2. Living In The Shadows (Live)
3. River Below (Video)
4. Try Honesty (Video)
5. EPK Footage

Video

The subject of the song is a schizophrenic man who hears voices in his head compelling him to construct and detonate a bomb. A photo of himself indicates that he was a General during a war. Whilst watching the television he sees bombs falling. Examples of insanity show that the man trying to change the channel but it stays the same, newspaper headline clippings rearranging themselves so they say different things (ie: You will be famous!), and his bomb blueprints moving. Billy Talent are shown playing in a garage over the road from the house of the man, which appears to be cast somewhere around the 1960s, demonstrable by the clothing and technology; such as black and white television and the style of decor. The video is censored. In the original video, the bomb blows off showing an explosion, consuming the man and Billy Talent. In the MMM edition, the bomb blows, but there is no explsion.

Quotation at the beginning of the video

Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds

— J. Robert Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer was known as the 'Father of the Atomic Bomb', and this foreshadows the events that lead to the detonation of the bomb that the General has constructed. However, it could also be treated as having much wider implications; suggesting that those with weapons, such as that shown in the video (i.e. warring countries), become the givers of death but on a scale that has a real potential of destroying the world. The man is therefore only a representation of a greater danger, a microcosm of a possible scenario.