"Water's Edge" is a song by

Seven Mary Three Seven Mary Three (occasionally abbreviated to 7 Mary 3 or 7M3) was an American rock band. They released seven studio albums and one live album, and are best known for their hit single (music), single "Cumbersome". Career Formation Seven Mary T ...

and the second single released from their second album, '' American Standard''. It was originally included on their independently released debut album, '' Churn'', in 1994. The single was released in 1996 and became one of the band's most popular songs, reaching #7 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched i ...

Overview

The original five-minute version of "Water's Edge" was condensed and became the opening track to 1995's ''American Standard''. It didn't manage to replicate the success of the band's chart-topping debut single, " Cumbersome," but nevertheless charted well and continues to receive radio play. When Seven Mary Three opened for 3 Doors Down on a 2003 tour, the latter group claimed to have

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

"Water's Edge" among other 7M3 songs during their early days.Cartwright, Keith Rya
Giti Khalsa of Seven Mary Three
TheyWillRockYou.com (November 2003). Retrieved on September 7, 2008. "Water's Edge" details the story behind a bloated corpse being found in a river or creek; it has been said to be inspired by the 1986 film ''

River's Edge ''River's Edge'' is a 1986 American crime drama film directed by Tim Hunter, written by Neal Jimenez, and starring Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye Leitch, Daniel Roebuck and Dennis Hopper. It follows a group of teenagers in a Northern ...

'', but this is not well confirmed. Other accounts indicate that the song is based on a book that Jason Ross read while in college at William and Mary. The song's narrator admits that he witnessed a woman being tossed in the water to drown. He recalls seeing her just before a van of people drove up and subdued the woman, but notes that he cannot confess his witnessing the crime out of fear of their power. Musically, "Water's Edge" relies on a soft verse, heavy

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

style. Muted guitar chords and

harmonic A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the '' fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', ...

s between verses also offer a delicate side to this dark, aggressive song. During the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, the narrator furiously ridicules himself for not intervening with the incident.

Music video

Thomas Mignone, who would later become known for his heavy metal

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

s, directed the symbolic "Water's Edge" video. All band performance and story concept footage was shot in the woods and at a creekside building during winter. The video focuses on a young boy walking through the woods and spotting a suspicious man. The boy opens a tent to see strange

hand puppet A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the hand or hands that occupies the interior of the puppet.Sinclair, A, ''The Puppetry Handbook'', p.15 A glove puppet is a variation of hand puppets. Rod puppets require one of the puppetee ...

s cavorting amongst one another. This is intertwined with footage of people in large costumes similar to the puppets who are harassing a woman outside. A man is also shown observing through a window in the building before removing a floor cover and heading below. The boy closes the tent and runs away as the video ends.

Track listings

# "Water's Edge" # "Shelf Life" # "Lame" (Acoustic/Electric) # " Cumbersome" (Acoustic Version)

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1996 singles 1995 songs 1990s ballads Rock ballads Seven Mary Three songs Songs about death fi:Water's Edge sv:Water's Edge