Delta Rae - Bottom Of The River [Official Music Video]

"Bottom Of The River" by Delta Rae from Carry The Fire, out now. Directed by Lawrence Chen. Special thanks to the Phi Beta Sigma Step Team, Defmo and Freewater Productions.

Delta Rae's album, Carry The Fire, is out now.

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#DeltaRae #Americana

"Bottom of the River" Lyrics:

Hold my hand
Ooh baby it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh baby it's a long way down
A long way down

If you get sleep or if you get none
The cock's gonna call in the morning baby
Check the cupboard for your daddy's gun
Red sun rises like an early warning

The Lord's gonna come for your firstborn son
His hair's on fire and his heart is burning
So go to the river where the water runs
Wash him deep where the tides are turning

And if you fall, if you fall

Hold my hand
Ooh baby it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh baby it's a long way down
A long way down

The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight
Drunk and driven by a devil's hunger
Drive your son like a railroad spike
Into the water, let it pull him under

Don't you lift him, let him drown alive
The good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder
Let that fever make the water rise
And let the river run dry

And I said hold my hand
Ooh baby it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh baby it's a long way down
A long way down

[egobang]

Uh, guys, this isn't a white girl singing a song about slavery. This is about the Salem witch trials, oppression of women in accusation of witchcraft in the name of God. The lyrics connect to when people threw the accused into a river as a bogus trial to see if they were a witch. If they sunk, they were a normal citizen. If they floated, they were a witch and were taken and killed anyway. Either way you were dead. If you were accused of being a witch, the best thing to do was to run from the mob. That's what the song's about, so PLEASE stop getting angry about Delta singing a nonexistent song about slavery!

EDIT: How the hell did this get so many likes? Why are you all here?!?

[thickqueen]

This song sounds like it could be in hadestown

[meccajohnson]

She was a witch because in the beginning when they came into her room her reflection didn't turn around like her body did

[zoezh]

Anyone else love her reflection when she's taken?

[alexrose]

At 1:26 where her body language shifts and you see she's in control....love this song!

[lexiward]

You have no idea how much I've been searching and trying to remember this video. They only played it once on MTV when I was like 11 and I'm almost 17 now. I'm happy now wow

[raylee]

Holy shit, this song ends way too soon.

[gladysestevez]

The fact that this song was made *_EIGHT YEARS AGO_* still keeps me awake at night

[grace_and_purity]

For all of you confused: this is a song about the witch trials ... And what would probably happen if one of the girls they meanlessly killed was actually a witch. She bewitched the townsfolk and danced/sang them to death. Details to pick up on: her reflection in the mirror, first how it didn't turn around when she did, and then when it blew out the lantern after. The town's men's eyes were normal before they attempted to take her, but as they became bewitched their eyes became completely black (1:10)

[firebug]

Quote from the band members:
"When making the video, we felt strongly about maintaining the creepiness and mystery of the song; however it was never important to do a direct depiction of the story in the song. After eight frustrating months of fruitless ideating, Ian suggested telling the story of a witch trial, which immediately resonated."

[f-alightningii]

This is a song about the witch trials. Specifically about a mother comforting and preying for her daughter who has been accused of witchcraft. The lyric “hold my hand, its a long way down to the bottom of the river” is a reference to how they would test to see if one was a witch. They would tie a suspect to a chair or simply throw them into a river to see if they’d float. If they did they were a witch. This connects to the lyric “don’t you lift em, let em drown alive” because the mother is preying to god that she didn’t float because if she did she would be a witch and would be burned, a much worse death.

[LunatheLoungeSinger]

My fellow witches, wiccans, and sorcerers meet together and sing this during ur full moon. Blessed be

[maeowelvsulotz]

I wish the rest of their work reflected this song. This is definitely the strongest one i've heard. She's got a killer voice and the harmonies blend very well. I think the look and feel of the video is very in tune with the sound and feel of the song itself.

[kiarajones]

this song is definitely not long enough

[rst]

This gives me hadestown vibes... she'd be great as one of the fates

[thursdaycarter]

Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
If you get sleep or if you get none
The cock's gonna call in the morning, baby
Check the cupboard for your daddy's gun
Red sun rises like an early warning
The Lord's gonna come for your first born son
His hair's on fire and his heart is burning
So go to the river where the water runs
Wash him deep where the tides are turning
And if you fall
If you fall
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight
Drunk and driven by a devil's hunger
Drive your son like a railroad spike
Into the water, let it pull him under
Don't you lift him, let him drown alive
The good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder
Let that fever make the water rise
And let the river run dry
And I said
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way, a long long long way
Hold my hand
Ooh, baby, it's a long way down, a long way down

[FreedomWriter]

Her vocals are amazing. She has a lot of soul. I really like that this is based on the Salem Witch Trials. Very harsh time period. I like that the song actually recognizes the tragic events that took place from 1692-93. Many innocents were falsely accused of witchcraft and murdered. Most of the accused were women. Dark times indeed.

[PredatoryVirus]

Witch gets captured. Forces her kidnappers to do a musical number with her before her 'drowning'. Walks away with no problem. Illuminati confirmed.

[ronrandolph]

I could not believe the choreographed step this girl fell into while both singing and being pulled. Very well done. Camera work as she passed with wind catching her hair was pure art. the same for her final look before turning to leave. I have not seen genius like this in music video for a long time. The song was magic. It stirred the senses, and was very controversial. Thank you for giving art back to music.

[trentbaileyyiaytokens]

Anyone else get chills when her reflection didn’t turn around when she did at the beginning. That looks of disgust was great. Her face literally said “WTF do you want”