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'.
This Town
Green River Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone makes everything seem all right
But you have to stay there with her
For the rest of your life
I'm drivin', I'm drivin'
To the end of the road, I'm drivin'
I've been driven, driven
Passing your town ahead
Straight to that junction for hell
Oh, I won't bother to pick you up
You'll get there all by yourself
I'm drivin', I'm drivin'
To the end of the road, I'm drivin'
I've been driven, driven
To the end of my road
There's this place where
The borders of each town touch
I know that place all too well
If you stand just right, stand just right
One foot in heaven, one in Hell
That's how I live my life
That's how I live my life
That's not how I want to die
That's not how I want to die
In my time of dying in my time of dying
In my time of dying in my time of dying
There's this town called Heaven
And there's this town called Hell
Gonna keep on goin'
Won't stop 'till I've found something else
I'm drivin', I'm drivin'
To the end of the road, I'm drivin'
I've been driven, driven
To the end of my road
I'm drivin', I'm drivin'
To the end of the road, I'm drivin'
I've been driven, driven
To the end of my road, whoa, whoa
The song "This Town" by Green River is about the singer's desire to escape a town that he considers to be a metaphor for a life of stagnation and decay. In the first verse, the singer talks about a place called heaven where someone makes everything seem all right, but the catch is that you have to stay there with her for the rest of your life. This can be interpreted as a reference to settling for an unfulfilling life of conformity and monotony. The singer then talks about driving to the end of the road, representing his desire to escape the town and explore new possibilities.
In the second verse, the singer notes that he's passing the town and going straight to the junction for hell, indicating that he'd rather explore the unknown and potentially dangerous than stay in a town where he feels trapped. The repeated line "I've been driven, driven, to the end of my road" highlights the singer's restlessness and determination to move forward.
The third verse talks about a place where the borders of each town touch, which the singer knows all too well. This could symbolize the feeling of being caught between two extremes, or the struggle to find a sense of belonging in a world that seems to be divided. The singer laments that he doesn't want to die in this state of limbo and reiterates his commitment to keep driving until he finds something else.
Overall, "This Town" is a powerful anthem about breaking free from the chains of complacency and embracing the unknown. Its gritty, hard-edged sound and introspective lyrics make it a standout track in Green River's discography.
Line by Line Meaning
There's this town called heaven where
There's a place that provides a sense of comfort and security
Someone makes everything seem all right
There is a person who makes everything feel okay
But you have to stay there with her
In exchange for that feeling, you have to stay with that person for the rest of your life
Passing your town ahead
I'm passing through your town on my way elsewhere
Straight to that junction for hell
I'm headed towards a destination that may not be a good place
Oh, I won't bother to pick you up
I won't take you with me to that destination
There's this place where
There is a location where
The borders of each town touch
Where the boundaries of two towns converge
I know that place all too well
I am familiar with the place
If you stand just right, stand just right
If you place yourself in a specific position
One foot in heaven, one in Hell
You can have one part of your life feel good and another feel awful
That's how I live my life
That is the way my life is currently structured
That's not how I want to die
I don't want my life to end that way
There's this town called Heaven
There is a place that feels like paradise
And there's this town called Hell
There is a place that feels like torment
Gonna keep on goin'
I will keep moving forward
Won't stop 'till I've found something else
I will continue my journey until I find a better place
I'm drivin', I'm drivin'
I am driving
To the end of the road, I'm drivin'
I am headed towards the end of the path
I've been driven, driven
I have been compelled to do this
To the end of my road
Until I reach my final destination
In my time of dying in my time of dying
As I reach the end of my life
In my time of dying in my time of dying
As I reach the end of my life
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Jeff Ament, Ian Fairweather, Stone Gossard, Mark McLaughlin, Alex Vincent
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mari Sundell
Damnnnn. This is really good stuff, why am I just now hearing of them? They make me want to do laps around my apartment and love every minute of it!
C Brown
pretty sad that I've known about this band since '87/'88 when I first discovered Sub Pop and am just now listening to them for the very first time. Procrastination is obviously something I am far too good at
MassiveAttackFan
Don't feel bad, it's a big world, and it's a real gem to discover new tunes. Never take that for granted, no matter who it is.
Joann Parente
Great words @MassiveAttackFan
Jefferson Araujo el políglota
Well, in my case, I began listening to Grunge with Nirvana since 2012, and now around 2014 I was trying new tunes like this one...
Strange Wayfaring Stranger
Hahahaha that's me too.
Vinyl Diary666
They should make one more album and one more tour! this is sick!
SolarGlu
Baller idea, brother in brisket.
backwards7
Thank you for nudging this record back into the present day. The rock music of this era had a soiled vitality that was lost down the road after the money flooded in and the production budgets got bigger.
da goofy goober
absurdly underrated song