Mouth of the River, to me, is about the duality of man. It is about feeling as though you have two different parts of you that, despite all stemming from the same source, are incompatible. It talks specifically about religion, probably in reference to Dan Reynolds's religious upbringing.
The first verse itself kicks itself off by introducing religion. He talks about how he wants to be religious, "wanna bow to the floor with everybody else," but then contradicts itself immediately--"wanna be someone."
The next line I interpret as rather personal to Reynolds's life, but I'm not deadset. "Wanna make some love" could be in reference to how he got kicked out of his Mormon school for having had sex with his long term, high school girlfriend. The next line would be the contradictions I was talking about, because to him, he cannot make love and not have enemies. Just as easily, though, these lines could be trying to say the same thing, depending on interpretation.
"On the mouth of the river" would refer to where he is at life--he is always at a point where he can make a decision, but not a crossroads. He is at a place where he has to look out into the wide ocean and make a decision about where he will go. He cannot be in all places at once, but he wants to be everywhere. Despite the fact that there are no walls between the two sides of himself--no walls in the ocean at all--he still has to make a choice.
"Oh I'm alkaline" is my favorite line due to it being a pun. "Alkaline" is a chemistry term for a solution that has a pH greater than 7, aka a basic solution. This is in reference to the next line, "I'm always sticking to the basics." As with all of the song, though, this part of him is immediately contradicted: "I'm overboard." It's pretty hard to be both simple and complex. Then, "I'm self-destructive and self-important." These aren't necessarily exact opposites of each other, I do believe that they can exist within a person simultaneously, but it's pretty rare to find yourself both building yourself up and breaking yourself down. Anxious and self assured are opposites, and the final lines in this verse I think is just his own reconciliation (or lack thereof) of all this contradiction within himself.
The rest of the song is just various parts being repeated, but I do think the line, "Oh I am going under," deserves some analysis. I don't think this strictly means hell. Reynolds has been very open about his struggle with mental health, and I think that this line refers to how, so long as this contradiction exists, he is in a no-win situation. Sure, given the religious overtones of the song, it probably does refer on some level to hell--but maybe the opposite of that is socially and financially, as he doesn't believe he can handle his fame and appease his religion at the same time.
Overwhelmingly, it's not just a song about religion--again, it is a song about duality and contradiction, with religion playing a main part in that.
Mouth of the River, to me, is about the duality of man. It is about feeling as though you have two different parts of you that, despite all stemming from the same source, are incompatible. It talks specifically about religion, probably in reference to Dan Reynolds's religious upbringing.
The first verse itself kicks itself off by introducing religion. He talks about how he wants to be religious, "wanna bow to the floor with everybody else," but then contradicts itself immediately--"wanna be someone."
The next line I interpret as rather personal to Reynolds's life, but I'm not deadset. "Wanna make some love" could be in reference to how he got kicked out of his Mormon school for having had sex with his long term, high school girlfriend. The next line would be the contradictions I was talking about, because to him, he cannot make love and not have enemies. Just as easily, though, these lines could be trying to say the same thing, depending on interpretation.
"On the mouth of the river" would refer to where he is at life--he is always at a point where he can make a decision, but not a crossroads. He is at a place where he has to look out into the wide ocean and make a decision about where he will go. He cannot be in all places at once, but he wants to be everywhere. Despite the fact that there are no walls between the two sides of himself--no walls in the ocean at all--he still has to make a choice.
"Oh I'm alkaline" is my favorite line due to it being a pun. "Alkaline" is a chemistry term for a solution that has a pH greater than 7, aka a basic solution. This is in reference to the next line, "I'm always sticking to the basics." As with all of the song, though, this part of him is immediately contradicted: "I'm overboard." It's pretty hard to be both simple and complex. Then, "I'm self-destructive and self-important." These aren't necessarily exact opposites of each other, I do believe that they can exist within a person simultaneously, but it's pretty rare to find yourself both building yourself up and breaking yourself down. Anxious and self assured are opposites, and the final lines in this verse I think is just his own reconciliation (or lack thereof) of all this contradiction within himself.
The rest of the song is just various parts being repeated, but I do think the line, "Oh I am going under," deserves some analysis. I don't think this strictly means hell. Reynolds has been very open about his struggle with mental health, and I think that this line refers to how, so long as this contradiction exists, he is in a no-win situation. Sure, given the religious overtones of the song, it probably does refer on some level to hell--but maybe the opposite of that is socially and financially, as he doesn't believe he can handle his fame and appease his religion at the same time.
Overwhelmingly, it's not just a song about religion--again, it is a song about duality and contradiction, with religion playing a main part in that.