Possum Kingdom (song)

"Possum Kingdom" is a song by American alternative rock band Toadies released as the second single from their 1994 album, Rubberneck.

"Possum Kingdom"
Single by Toadies
from the album Rubberneck
ReleasedAugust 30, 1994
GenreAlternative rock, post-grunge[1]
Length5:09
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)Todd Lewis
Producer(s)Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf
Toadies singles chronology
"Mister Love"
(1994)		 "Possum Kingdom"
(1994)		 "Away"
(1995)

The song's origins lie in folklore from the band's native state of Texas. Possum Kingdom Lake is a lake in North Texas near Fort Worth. In the documentary "Dark Secrets: The Stories of Rubberneck", Lewis further elaborates that he intended "Possum Kingdom" to be a continuation of the story told in the song "I Burn". While he envisioned "I Burn" to be a story about cult members immolating themselves in order to ascend to a higher plane, "Possum Kingdom" was about one of the immolated people becoming "just smoke, and ...he goes to Possum Kingdom [Lake] and tries to find somebody to join him." [2]

Most of the song alternates between a 7
4 and an 8
4 time signature, which alternatively may be notated as 15
4.

Music video

The music video for "Possum Kingdom" was directed by Thomas Mignone and begins with a body bag being dragged from a lake, then pans to the lead singer, Vaden Todd Lewis, singing in a dark room. It then pans to a shot of the band performing in a small venue with several dozen dancing fans. The individual who dragged the body bag from the river then opens it and begins violently hacking away at it. The video ends by revealing the individual is actually an ice sculptor that is creating the image of a beautiful woman. A drop of water is seen streaming down her face. Filming was done in Dallas, TX.

Charts
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Alternative 30 3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay 40[3]
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 9
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 4

In other media
  • The music video was featured in an episode of Beavis and Butt-head, in which the duo criticize the music video and talk about death/dying.
  • The song is a playable track in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II and as downloadable content in Rock Band 3 and Rock Band 4.
  • The track is used in Girl Talk's "This is the Remix" from his 2010 album All Day.
  • It was featured on an episode of Hindsight.
  • It was played on an episode of This is Us.

References
  1. "Possum Kingdom - Toadies - Song Info". AllMusic.
  2. "Dark Secrets: The Stories of Rubberneck". 24 March 2014.
  3. "Toadies - Chart History, Billboard". Retrieved 2 April 2015.
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