Green River had little impact outside of Seattle, but their influence within Seattle's music scene would eventually be felt around the world. Their influence reached to both of their contemporaries (Soundgarden, The Melvins) and later Seattle bands (Nirvana, Alice in Chains) sharing the Sub Pop label. Green River's impact continued to live on through the bands who formed after their break-up in 1988: Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, Love Battery, and Mudhoney.
They were possibly the first band in Seattle to mix metal, punk, and glam, leading to the sound known later as "grunge." Mark Arm, the group's singer, is widely credited as being the first person to use the term, although in a different manner that is widely used. He has since shown contempt for the label.
They were heavily influenced by the still-obscure Californian proto-grunge/hardcore punk band Tales of Terror, something Green River themselves were not ashamed of or subtle enough not to wear on their sleeves; as they covered Tales of Terror's song 'Ozzy' (re-titled 'Ozzie') from their sole album on their 1987 EP, Dry as a Bone. Tales of Terror, at some point; through touring, wound up in Seattle during the early 80s and played gigs Green River members attended. Apparently they were so 'blown away' by the band that they derived a significant amount of their own style from Tales of Terror. Kurt Cobain himself, as a fan of Green River; also ended up acknowledging Tales of Terror's music as an influence, as evidenced by their presence on his Top 50 albums ever. This influence even still reached Mark Arm and Steve Turner's subsequent band Mudhoney, as decades later, they named a song after Tales of Terror for their 2008 record 'The Lucky Ones'.
Green River had three official releases: Come On Down (EP, 1985), Dry As A Bone (EP, 1987), and Rehab Doll (Full-length 1988). They have an anthology album as well from 1990 entitled Dry as a Bone/Rehab Doll that as its name suggests, combines the two releases plus some bonus material. They have also been included on nine compilations, spanning from the late 80's to the mid 90's.
A Green River reunion occurred on November 30, 1993 during a Pearl Jam concert in Las Vegas, Nevada. Participating in the reunion were Arm, Turner, Gossard, Ament and Chuck Treece, who filled in on drums for Vincent, who at that time was living in Japan. The band performed the songs "Swallow My Pride" and "Ain't Nothing to Do" before leaving the stage.
Green River reunited for four shows in 2008. The line-up for the shows included Ament, Arm, Turner, Vincent, Gossard, and Fairweather. The first show was a warm-up show on July 10, 2008 at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle. The band next played on July 13, 2008 at Marymoor Park near Seattle to honor Sub Pop's 20th anniversary. Green River played another live show on November 28, 2008 at Dante's in Portland, Oregon. Afterward, the band played on November 29, 2008 at the Showbox in Seattle to celebrate The Supersuckers' 20th anniversary. Green River played on May 22, 2009 and May 23, 2009 at the Showbox in Seattle to celebrate the Melvins' 25th anniversary.
Green River was said to have tentative plans to record a new studio album when the band members' schedules permit, to possibly tour and to release remixed and remastered versions of the band's output containing bonus material.
So far only the latter has occurred. In 2016 they released a remixed and remastered version of their 1984 Demo Tape that was never officially released. Most notably, it contains the Green River original song 'Leech' that was subsequently given (or 'stolen' by) to the Melvins and re-titled 'Leeech' because they felt the song 'wasn't of much use' to them but that some people actually consider to be one of or simply their 'best' (hence the Melvins wanted it).
2018 saw the reissue of their debut EP, Come on Down with a demo version of their Deep Six compilation song 'Your Own Best Friend' from that same session as a bonus track. A year later, in 2019, Deluxe versions of Dry as a Bone and Rehab Doll were released; which included a good amount of unreleased material as well as a third release from their personal archive: A live recording from their 1984 era entitled 'Live at the Tropicana 1984'.
Come on Down
Green River Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lift your eyes to the skies above
Come on in, feel my love
A little bit here, a little piece there
Pieces of love everywhere
C'mon down to the river...
The river runs shallow, the river goes deep
The river calls in your sleep
Dig this baby, now dig this hole
Your body's so warm, the river's so cold
And you're the one I want to hold
You're the one I want to hold
You're the one to fill this hole
You're the one I got to hold
C'mon down to the river...
The song "Come on Down" by Green River is a deep and soulful call to love, and the river serves as a powerful metaphor for the power and depth of human emotion. The lyrics call out to us to lift our eyes to the sky and to come in and feel the love that surrounds us. The singer speaks about love and togetherness being comprised of small and meaningful parts, little pieces that we can find everywhere around us. The message is that love is not just something we give or receive, but it is a force that surrounds us, a part of everything in nature, and something that we can tap into anytime we want.
The river is another important symbol in the song, representing the depths of human emotion and the vast ocean of love that we all have within us. The river is both shallow and deep, calling out to us in our sleep, and urging us to dig deep and feel the warmth within our bodies even as the river runs cold. The singer emphasizes the importance of holding onto the one we love, of having someone to fill the hole in our lives, a deep and wordless need that we all have for human connection, for love and understanding.
Overall, "Come on Down" is a moving and evocative song that speaks to the universal need for love and connection, using the river as a metaphor for the depths of human emotion and the power of love to transform and heal us.
Line by Line Meaning
C'mon down to the river...
Invitation to come to the river
Lift your eyes to the skies above
Look up at the sky
Come on in, feel my love
Come in and feel the love I have for you
A little bit here, a little piece there
Love is all around us in small pieces
Pieces of love everywhere
Love is found everywhere
The river runs shallow, the river goes deep
The river has varying depths
The river calls in your sleep
The river beckons you even in your dreams
Dig this baby, now dig this hole
Pay attention to this situation
Your body's so warm, the river's so cold
Your warmth can counter the river's coldness
And you're the one I want to hold
I want to hold you
You're the one I want to hold
You are the one I want to hold
You're the one to fill this hole
You can fill the emptiness I feel
You're the one I got to hold
I have to hold you
C'mon down to the river...
Invitation to come to the river
Contributed by Elliot F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Do e
Grunge
Hard rock
Alternative metal
Heavy metal
Alternative rock
Glam rock
Stoner rock
New wave
Post-punk
Post-hardcore
Post-grunge
New wave of British heavy metal
Progressive rock
Progressive metal
Shock rock
Arena rock
Kathryn Rippley
This song sends chills down my spine
Ana Luiza Brown
This band is amazing! I wish I had heard of them sooner
Duckyyy AJ
same but 6 years later
Gregory Startzel
Same but it’s the end of 2021 and I’m old as dirt
Carol Robinson
Still one of my favorite grunge tunes. As a KCMU DJ I played it way back when...before grunge had a name and became mainstream. It was an exciting time to be part of the Seattle music scene.
bonghoger
a Great song & very exciting times! Must of been fun DJ"n for KCMU. my band did a benefit show, for 90.3, on cap hill at the Radio towers in 89 or 90? did you attend the sub pop 200 release party in the U-dist.?
wagner winchester
as bandas podem acabar mais o movimento e a paixao nunca morre
Joakín Gamez
excelente grunge !!!
BigHam
Who says grunge is dead? There's still bands... active ones, I mean. 'Sides there's always sweet history!
ginnrollins211
I wonder when these guys are going to reunite again and make an album? If they have a show in Vegas, I am definitely going!