"River of Deceit" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Mad Season, released in 1995 as the first single from the band's only studio album, ''

Above Above may refer to: *Above (artist) Tavar Zawacki (b. 1981, California) is a Polish, Portuguese - American abstract artist and internationally recognized visual artist based in Berlin, Germany. From 1996 to 2016, he created work under the ...

'' (1995). The song reached number two on the ''

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 published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart and is the band's most well known song.

Origin and recording

The music for "River of Deceit" came out of rehearsals that the group had before vocalist

Layne Staley Layne Thomas Staley (born Layne Rutherford Staley; August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as p ...

joined the band.

Lyrics

Much of "River of Deceit", lyrically, was inspired by the 1923 book '' The Prophet'' by

Khalil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist; he was also considered a philosopher, although he himself rejected the title. ...

, which Staley read during the making of the album. Drummer

Barrett Martin Barrett Harrington Martin (born April 14, 1967) is an American drummer and record producer from Washington. He is perhaps best known for his work with the alternative rock bands Screaming Trees and Mad Season. He was also a member of Skin Yard ...

said, "Layne Staley felt as though he was on a spiritual mission through his music. Not a rock mission, a spiritual mission." Staley also wrote the song partially about his drug addiction which would eventually lead to his death in 2002.

Release and reception

The single for "River of Deceit" was released to radio across North America, Europe, and the world. "River of Deceit" became the most successful song from ''Above'' on the American rock charts. The song peaked at number two on the ''Billboard''

chart and number nine on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. It would go on to become the band's most well-known song as it received substantial radio play throughout the 1990s. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the song reached the top 70 on the Canadian

Singles Chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

, and later it charted on the Canadian Alternative Top 30 chart where it reached number eight.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "River of Deceit" was directed by

Josh Taft Josh Taft is an American music video director. He has directed music videos for Alice in Chains (" Would?"), Stone Temple Pilots (" Sex Type Thing", "Plush", and " Lady Picture Show"), Nas (" The World Is Yours"), A Tribe Called Quest ("Award ...

. The

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

video features the band performing the song amid scenes of people engaged in various activities. It is the only music video the band released. The video can be found at the end of the concert video, '' Live at the Moore''.

Live performances

"River of Deceit" was first performed live at the band's October 12, 1994 concert in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

at the

Crocodile Cafe The Crocodile (formerly the Crocodile Cafe, and sometimes called The Croc) is a music club at 2505 1st Avenue at Wall Street in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened by Stephanie Dorgan as the "Crocodile Ca ...

. Live performances of "River of Deceit" can be found on the " I Don't Know Anything" single and the compilation album ''Bite Back: Live at Crocodile Cafe''. A performance of the song is also included on the '' Live at the Moore'' home video release. On May 23, 2012, the surviving members of Mad Season (Mike McCready and Barrett Martin) performed "River of Deceit" during a set at the Showbox Theatre in Seattle for Mike's annual benefit concert for Crohn's Disease. They were joined by Loaded singer Jeff Rouse and bassist Rick Friel. On January 30, 2015, the surviving members of Mad Season again reunited for a concert at

Benaroya Hall Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2,500-seat performance venue, as well as the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital ...

in Seattle, with

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell ( Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock music, rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a ...

filling in on lead vocals. The band played several Mad Season songs, including "River of Deceit". A recording of the concert was released as a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

''Mad Season & The Seattle Symphony - Sonic Evolution / January 30, 2015 / Benaroya Hall''. Chris Cornell subsequently added "River of Deceit" to his solo repertoire, performing the song each night on his 2015

Higher Truth ''Higher Truth'' is the fourth studio album by American rock musician Chris Cornell, and the final album to be released during his lifetime and his final album of original material. It was released on September 18, 2015. Recording Cornell chose ...

tour. Cornell also mentions the lyric "River of Deceit" in his song "Ground Zero" with the lyrics being "Blood on the concrete/River of Deceit/Will you be around?".

Temple of the Dog Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of the bands Malfunkshun and M ...

also played the song on their 2016 tour.

Track listing

All songs written by

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season (band), Ma ...

John Baker Saunders John Baker Saunders, Jr. (September 23, 1954 – January 15, 1999) was an An American Music Band, American musician, known as a founding member and bassist for the United States, American grunge rock supergroup Mad Season (band), Mad Season, as ...

, and

. ;CD (Australia and Austria) and Cassette (Australia) #"River of Deceit" – 5:04 #"November Hotel" (live) – 15:17 #*Recorded live on November 20, 1994 at the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Some copies list the second track as just "November Hotel" (without "All Alone"). ;Promotional CD (US) #"River of Deceit" – 5:04

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1995 debut singles 1995 songs Mad Season (band) songs Music videos directed by Josh Taft Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Mike McCready Songs about drugs Songs written by Mike McCready Songs written by Layne Staley