I believe that in this song they're actually singing about rebelling against God and escaping his wrath.
The river reference in this song could be about either baptism or the drowning of witches: redemption and damnation. The religious references to God in this song seem to portray him as an antagonist... a burning creature coming for your 'first born son.' For those that are familiar with the story of Moses, this is referring to the 10th and final plague of Egypt, a punishment by God towards the Pharaoh for disobeying his commandments, where he killed all the firstborn children of the land.
By fleeing to the river (where the tides are turning), you're given the idea that she might be able to save her son from God's wrath. By plunging him deep into the river, he will be 'washed clean.' Then....
"Don't you lift him, let him drown alive....Let that fever make the water rise
And let the river run dry"
Ultimately, I think they're singing about her bringing her son down to the bottom of a river to 'wash him clean' of his 'sins,' so that God can't touch him anymore. Also, the river could serve as a symbol that the son's 'sickness' (his fever) burns away and dries up.
I believe that in this song they're actually singing about rebelling against God and escaping his wrath.
The river reference in this song could be about either baptism or the drowning of witches: redemption and damnation. The religious references to God in this song seem to portray him as an antagonist... a burning creature coming for your 'first born son.' For those that are familiar with the story of Moses, this is referring to the 10th and final plague of Egypt, a punishment by God towards the Pharaoh for disobeying his commandments, where he killed all the firstborn children of the land.
By fleeing to the river (where the tides are turning), you're given the idea that she might be able to save her son from God's wrath. By plunging him deep into the river, he will be 'washed clean.' Then....
"Don't you lift him, let him drown alive....Let that fever make the water rise And let the river run dry"
Ultimately, I think they're singing about her bringing her son down to the bottom of a river to 'wash him clean' of his 'sins,' so that God can't touch him anymore. Also, the river could serve as a symbol that the son's 'sickness' (his fever) burns away and dries up.