Possum Kingdom by Toadies

Album: Rubberneck (1994)

Charted: 40

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Songfacts®:

Possum Kingdom is a lake in Texas, near the Dallas/Fort Worth area where the band is from - it even has its own Chamber of Commerce.

There are no mentions of possums or kingdoms in the lyrics, but we do hear a creepy story about a spooky walk around a lake.

In a 1995 interview with RIP magazine, Toadies lead singer Todd Lewis, who wrote the song, said: "It's just a story I heard long ago; it's just a really cool, eerie lake, and some stuff I heard and some stuff I just make up. I tend to do that. They dammed up this big river up there, and it's got all these spooky names like Hell's Gate. It's really cool."

Lewis went on to say that there was supposedly a real stalker in Tyler, Texas who became a folk hero: "I was down there for Thanksgiving, and after the family got through talking about who died and who's got cancer and all those things that families talk about, they started talking about this guy who was peeping in windows and started breaking into people's houses. He'd go out of his way to be seen, and everyone is like armed to the teeth, and he's like tapping on windows. The whole family was freaked out about it."
This is a very dark song with many possible interpretations. Here are a few:

It's about a serial killer who lures girls away by being really smooth.

It's about love or sex near the actual lake in Texas.

It's about a vampire.

It's about the devil. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Michelina - New York, NY
Toadies had the briefest possible stay on the US Top 40, nicking the chart at #40 with this song the week of November 18, 1995. The song made it thanks to airplay, which Billboard factored into the charts starting in 1991.

Toadies, and this song in particular, benefited from the boom in the "Modern Rock" or "Alternative" radio formats, which gave a good home to acts like Belly, Letters To Cleo and Blind Melon. Toadies toured with Bush for nearly a year to promote the Rubberneck album, which was their first major label release (Interscope/Atlantic). They made a second album, called Feeler, but it was rejected by the record company. Bass player Lisa Umbarger left the group, and they broke up soon after, orphaning their mid-'90s success. Toadies came back together in the '00s and released the album No Deliverance in 2008, which they followed with a new version of the previously shelved Feeler in 2010.
In the film Dark Secrets: The Stories of Rubberneck, Todd Lewis talked about writing this song. "In my teens and, I guess, my 20s, I would go to Possum Kingdom Lake where my family has some land and it was just really cool and creepy and just a really interesting place. Names like Hell's Gate and Devil's Island and all this weird nomenclature that just kind of lends itself to that kind of storytelling.

I was reading a lot of Stephen King and similar type horror fiction and every dark thing that I could read, so that song is about a character that's kind of stuck in another world, out floating around Possum Kingdom Lake. He's lonely and freaked out and just wanting to lure somebody else into his little realm. This guy wants to convince somebody else to do what he did, which is to burn themselves alive in order to be this other thing.

The essence of that is taking something that is beautiful and whole and destroying it in order to create something else. That's why in the video there's a creepy guy with a block of ice and he's creating this ice sculpture which will just be beautiful for just a moment and then it's going to melt and just be nothing. It's weird. It's how my brain works."
This was a surprisingly popular song with dancers at strip clubs, and there were even some local news reports in Texas about strippers using the song in their routines.
The character in this song - the one with the dark secret - also shows up in the Rubberneck track "I Burn," where he sets himself on fire so he go to a more ethereal place. It doesn't work out for him, and he ends up haunting the lake at Possum Kingdom.
This song was used in the XBox 360 version of Guitar Hero 2, under the "Opening Licks" section. It is available from the start. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Matt - Labrador City, Canada

Comments: 74

Dpop from HarrisburgSo many people being confidently wrong . He said what it's about: it ties into the song "I burn", after the guy sets himself on fire and becomes smoke, he tries to lure someone else to join him.
Joe from UsaWell, now I think it's about the Epstein files.
AnonymousIt’s about a vampire right he is trying to seduce her so he can make her into a vampire too because she won’t age
Rob B. from UsaI love how people interpret songs for themselves, and that's great because a song should have meaning to you personally, but to definitively say this song is about x is ridiculous - unless it comes from the songwriter him or herself. I write songs, and I'm not famous or anything, but generally my songs are not about anything specific, they most often evolve from a fragment or line I hear somewhere and I'm like, hey that's cool, let me use that. I have people say to me, I heard that song you wrote and it must mean this or that. And I'm like, no, it just came from this idea I had, but man, they're insistent it must mean what they say. Crazy.
Pat from AlabamaThe song to me is an expression of our animal instinct of sexual attraction. A young man can not hold back any longer. Hense the so help me Jesus. How he was taught to behave is being overtaken by his instinct for sex. He invites the girl who is also mysteriously attracted and frightened of him to show her his dark secrets. Finally do you want to die, to metamorphosis from girl to woman. Loose childhood innocence to sexual bonding with a man, sexual ecstasy . Has become my favorite song
Tracy from ArkansasIt’s about a creepy serial killer and it’s pretty scary that he’s luring a victim away with promises of love and protection but how she stays young and beautiful is he murders her, so in his twisted mind she stays exactly the same.
Anna from CaJust to clarify, Possum Kingdom is an actual state park, not just a lake. It's like the TX version of Yosemite. I've vacationed there with my family in the past.

I too once thought this song was about vampires, but the band has since told the story behind it. It's actually a work of fiction about a leader of a murder cult trying to indoctrinate a girl he has thing for, during a walk around the lake at Possum Kingdom.
Kjinkij3 from Lancaster PaSo, Possum Kingdom was recorded 15 years before Jennifer’s Body…not that.
It’s such a vampire song.
T from BhamAll I know is that ‘I’m not gonna lie. I’ll not be a gentleman’ is one of the dead-sexiest lyrics written. In the words of Pam Poovey, “sploosh”.
AnonymousI always loved this song. But i always thought that it was about vampires. I was in my goth faze when this came out. Oh no i still am
Coco Cali from Bay Area CaliforniaTo all the people who made comments about this being about murder, blah blah blah....death or dying are not always used in reference to a actual human (or any living thing) death. It can be used to represent the end of something. In this case it could be his taking her virginity or her innocence. Regardless, I don't think it's about vampires, although that does have a certain appeal to it. I also don't think that it has to do with murder. Well, at least not any particular murder. I think it simply just shows the mind of the writer. Something that he had taken in and processed then put it down on paper and created lyrics to music. Creativity is so underrated these days.
Ravenous Crows from GeorgiaI always thought it was about a murder/necrophilliac. He probably prays on women with low self esteem and depression and tries to convince them that he will kill them peacefully, keep their bodies well taken care of and love them forever. Opossums play dead when threatened, so to the guy they aren't really dead they are just alive but never again.
Gabrielle Delioncourt from FranceIt's probably about the vampire Lestat DeLioncourt. Boathouse... not a gentleman... angel.. do you wanna die... etc. etc.
He could be talking about his "lover", Nicolas De Lenfent.
Debra from PennsylvaniaMatt -- Texas, TX said, "The song is about a couple who broke up." YES!!! They were high school sweethearts but she broke up with him in their Senior year. He never stopped loving her and obsessed about her for years, even after she moved away for college. Then, one day, he heard that she was back in town. She was getting married the next day to someone she had met at college. He freaked out!!! Somehow, he got in touch with her and convinced her to meet him that night down behind the boat house. She agreed and when she arrived that night, in a hurry to get the meeting over with, she entered the boat house thinking he was not there yet. But he had tricked her and stepped out, blocking the only exit. He went crazy and demanded that she make up her mind and decide. Who was it gonna be? Live or die? He ended up murdering her in the frenzy.
Beck from OhioI guess I just feel like the band could be alluding to my Jennifer's Body comment, about like people supposedly selling their souls to the devil to get rich and famous.
Beck from OhioHere is my take. This song reminds me a lot about the silly movie "Jennifers Body" starring megan fox. It totallty clicks with the plot. you have the up and coming band that goes to small s--thole towns, like "devils kettle" in the movie. Their reason being, they need to find a virgin to sacrifice, therefore assuring them instant success. in the film, it backfires, as jennifer is not a virgin, but says she is because she wants to hook up with adam brody, the lead singer. Although, this movie is a lot of comedy and one liners, it still has that same feel to it. this reminds me of the song, as they coax jennifer to go with them in their creepy van. jen does not die, she turns into a demon with powers because she wasnt a virgin. this song in a weird way, reminds me of the movie. also, in the town in the movie they have this creepy waterfall where stuff can be dropped in and never is recovered. just a thought
Anthony from Cheyenne, WyomingI somehow saw this as a very different story.
A man and his wife decide to stay in a cabin(supposedly to be near PKL). The man, seeing as it's their anniversary, takes the wife out for a walk around the lake. He tells her that he has a surprise for her when they get to the back of the boathouse. Seeing as he kind of scared his wife, he apologizes before taking her back anyways. They get there, and the man tells her that he will always, always love her. They decide to have intercourse. He dominates(The lyrics of 'give it up to me'), and they finish soon. After taking a short nap, they are both ready for round two. Again they go, but instead of ending it normally - the man's sadistic nature starts to leak out, and he brings his wife to the lakeshore where he starts to drown her(The lyrics of 'do you wanna die'). He's realized that he killed his wife - and, in a daze, expresses a third round, thinking his wife is still alive - at least, in his mind. This then would cause him to technically be a necrophile, which is why I agree with Laura. But that's just a theory.
Barlow from Possum Kingdom LakeI'm from PK and folks around here still debate the meaning of that song. Rape, murder, vampire, urban legend or whatever. The fact is, PK is a strange place where strange things happen. Sure, the summer time is fun and lively, but during the winter, when all the tourists and weekend warriors are back at home, this place can be pretty scary. There have been many unexplained deaths out here that you'll never hear about. There has been gruesome murders that have been forgotten about. My guest, is that song was written for someone in particular to hear and they know the true meaning and that's all that matters. That or it's just a song.
Laura from TexasNecrophilia, people.
Dave from BostonApparently, I have a much different interpretation of this song than any one else who's posted. To me, the song was about a young woman taking a walk around the lake (and the boathouse) and having an internal conversation with herself and her boyfriend, heroin.
Defender from MidwestIMO, this song depicts an evil entity whose transformed himself into a very handsome and alluring man looking for an innocent virgin to violate. Why does she go with him? He invokes these words, without hesitation, "So help me, Jesus". Spewing lies of being her protector calling her his "angel", and so persuasively says, "Make up your mind" & "Don't you want to die"?. She believes she will be his "angel" forever if she gives herself to him. His "secret" is revealing his demonic nature after he has killed her for she is now a "dark angel" whom he has dominion over forever - "So help me, Jesus"
David from Burleson, TxDakota, PK is over 100 miles from Dallas; it's closer to Ft Worth. And you live in Texas???
Jacob from Brodhead, WiPossum Kingdom is a song about getting away with murder and not getting caught. You would have to watch the You-tube video to fully understand this song but all-in-all it is a cool 90's grunge rock song.
Crayola from Knoxville, TnI don't think the song is sexual. When he talks about taking her behind the boathouse and showing her his dark secret, I think he's a vampire. He wants her to become a vampire so they will be together for eternity and never die.
Dakota from La Marque, TxThank you Thomas V for your interpretation.
Dakota from La Marque, TxAlso he was a Tyler resident. I should Know I meet the MOTHER-f--kER.
Dakota from La Marque, TxJust to clear things up Possum lake is near Dallas TX. It was five 18 year old girls raped and murdered by a stalker and he buried them behind THE GOD-DAM boat hose. Also as a resident of Texas who lived near the lake I should know its history.
Monny from Sacramento, CaI thought it was a song about pedophile killer's thoughts. Gosh, what the mind can perceive.
Thomas V from Canton, MiThis comment is coming so late in the chronology of comments.....however 15 years in passing of this song I give it a solid 10 as a single. I loved it then and still do. INHO this is a vampire song straight up.
1. I'm not gonna lie I want you for mine, my flesh and blood....
2. I can promise you, you will be as beautiful with dark hair and soft skin forever.
3. Give it it up to me......do ya want to be my...
4. Do ya wanna die, do ya wanna die, do wanna die?
5. I can't see any other analogy for this.

I'm surprised True Blood hasn't picked up on this. If I'm wrong and it is about lakeside murders then oh well....I like my Vampire interpretation better.
Wistexan from La Crosse, WiYour intelligence is showing, x34460, anytown, FL.
I always thought the meaning was about luring a young lady for sex for the first time, but the line that seems to point to something darker is "Do you wanna die". Besides being about a rape or rape & murder I think that another interpretation could be that the man becomes angry and possibly violent ... from the girl saying "no".
I never did and still don't intrepet anything about vampirism. The dark secret is his desire. Or in a worst case, his murderous plan. Rather, the lyrics about becoming "my blushing bride, my lover" about "staying young and beautiful forever" points to the young lady giving up her virginity, implied virginity that is. The girl is forever young and beautiful as he would remember her. Of course, the staying young and beautiful forever could also point to her memory, her condition when she would be raped and/or murdered.
Ace from Faison, NcTo add, I don't believe it is about both. I think it is about murder. But I am not gonna argue in defense of my opinion nor to protest another. I just like the song. Bass was killer
Ace from Faison, NcScrew what "evidence" the video gives us. A lot of videos to a lot of songs make no sense. Not saying that this one does not, just saying you can't always get an interpretation to lyrics from a video. Why can't this song simply be about a rape and a murder? Compromise people. No reason to speculate given we did not write the song. Just enjoy it for whatever reason you do. At the end of the day, no matter how sure we are, we are never completely sure because ultimately, we just don't know.
Travis from Phoenix, Azdammit bloodaxe. you just wasted 5 minutes of my life with that story.
Bloodaxe from Lincoln, NeTHE TRUTH FINALLY: The Toadies hooked into a confidential and unpublished bizarre "kidnapping" spree that went on in 1982 at Possum Lake. Nobody knew it was "murder" because the bodies were never found. In fact, the families of the missing girls supposedly stated they had "seen" their missing daughters months later, walking along roads near their homes, but their "daughters" ran when the family member stopped to try to talk to them.

How I learned of this story was by accident. I went to my dad's ranch back in the early 80's - only a few miles from Graham, Texas. Graham was only a few miles from Possum Kingdom Lake. My dad was a detective in Graham, one of only three guys who handled homicide and other felonies.

The day before I was to return to California, my dad came home very late, his face very WHITE - like paper white. He first wouldn't talk, but I saw the little beads of sweat on his upper lip and hairline. I went "whoa pop, what's up with you? You look like sh*t". He just dropped into a chair at the kitchen table. He didn't want to talk, but I had brought out a full bottle of Jack Daniels for a celebration of my bon voyage party. He just pointed at it and said "give me the bottle". He hit that whisky hard.

I've never seen my dad that way, so I was very curious about what was freaking him out. He waited a few minutes while he took gulps from the whisky bottle. He asked me to turn off all the lights in the house except the kitchen light. He pulled out his side holster with his pistol and laid it on the table. Then he asked me to make sure all the doors in the house were closed and locked. After I did this, I asked him what the hell was up. He paused for another minute (seemed like 10 minutes) and then said he was working on a disappearance case of a young teen girl from Possum Kingdom lake (PKL). I asked him why this was so disturbing to him, a simple "missing person" case, and he answered "because this is the fifth girl missing in the last two years."

Whoa. I never heard that story in the news - either there or back in LA. I'd been in Graham almost a week, and had visited Possum Kingdom Lake several times to go fishing, and nothing like this was mentioned by anyone I met. The local populace didn't seem to be in some paranoid mode where they knew five teenage girls disappeared from PLK in less than 2 years. Tourism provides about 60% of the local economy.

I'm not proud to say that I got him drunk and I listened to one damn scary story. I wish my father's white face hadn't made me so curious. I promised not to talk about it back then. However, my dad no longer lives there, so I can finally discuss what he told me. It has haunted me for almost 20 years now, and every time I hear this song, I cringe, although it is a strangely beautiful song.

The summary ending to what happened is really still unanswered. The real "person" supposedly responsible for these five girls' disappearance is a bizarre mystery that very few people who KNOW the eyewitness reports won't discuss it because the story is so freaky - like, who could protect them if they told?

My dad said his partner and other officers were definitely questioning their own stories, and sanity. The regular beat cops didn't even want to patrol the area around Seminole Trail Road where pieces of each victim's clothing were found. My dad said they were just small pieces, one from each girl: a monogrammed sock, a scarf, a bracelet, a pendant, and a butterfly hairclip. Each of these pieces of evidence were enough for the families of the missing girls to say "yes, those belonged to her."

My dad said that he and his partner were talking back at the station about what they saw that night, trying to keep their voices low. What they didn't realize was two young deputies were in a cloakroom at the time, peeking in another cop's locker to find some naked photos of the cop's wife he bragged about. The deputies froze and hid when my dad and his partner came back into the station, so they were within 10 feet of my dad's office and heard everything my dad and his partner discussed about what they saw that night. The two deputies quit within a week, they were so freaked out.

The police in several jurisdictions around PKL wouldn't release ANY details to the media, who were only getting sketchy info anyways. The problem was that all the girls who disappeared were from families camping in the area, and none lived in Texas. There wasn't a "panic" that hit the populace. Only small rumors that grew but nothing that would be substantiated by the police. The reason for this was because after the fourth girl disappeared, some prominent men in the area formed a vigilante crew to hunt down the "monster". Even though there was never any bodies found, something strange was going on at the lake.

My dad said what really put the "lock" on any info coming out of the police dept (hence no local media coverage), was that about 15 men of the small town went on a vigilante hunt, and wrongfully killed two local teen boys. The boys were out, ironically, hunting possums and ran into the vigilantes deep in the woods. The boys were carrying a kerosene lantern which glowed strangely in the misty woods. A younger vigilante got spooked and shot one of the boys point blank - and with the sound of that shot, several other vigilantes opened fire on the shadows around that kerosene lamp. The two boys were slaughtered by the vigilantes by mistake. The local news reported it as a "hunting accident". The police backed it up, nobody wanted this info to become public.

Since the town (and the Possum Lake tourism chamber) didn't want the bad publicity to get out, even the local newspaper and one radio station preferred to keep the story buried to avoid possibly scaring away tourists. The final deal was to just say that some drifter was being "sought" for the disappearance of a camper. The truth was dropped into a big hole, and only a few people knew what was down in that hole, my dad being one of them.

So what was the incident that my dad and his partner saw that night that freaked him and so many others who worked with him? The final report, which the police dept totally ERASED from their records months later DENIED was this:

My dad and his partner were driving up from Navajo Trail to Arrowhead Trail. They went north up Seminole Trail and soon saw a tall, slender young man, darkhaired and very "white", almost translucent, holding hands with a pretty longhaired blonde girl, about 16 years old. They were walking slowly alongside the small road. It was after midnight. My dad pulled the car up just ahead of them, grabbed their flashlights and got out to walk back to meet them and talk. As they go up about 10 feet away, they noticed the girls was emotionless, but her hand was "clenched" to this boy's hand. My dad said it looked like their hands were "glued" together.

The tall boy, very handsome in spite of his very white skin, grinned softly to my dad and his partner. He said "Hello officers. What seems to be your concern?" My dad said he said "It's after midnight, don't you think you kids should be back with your parents?". It was just then my dad recognized the boy. He had seen him at least five times before, usually hanging out in parking lots outside some of the local nightclubs, late at night. They had brought him in one time for "underage" drinking, but they couldn't establish when his date of birth was. My dad called his parents, but they didn't speak English, and could only say "send Varamount home please." He found out later that "Varamount's" parents were government protected immigrants from east Europe. He couldn't find out any info on them.

However, on this encounter that night, "Varamount" just raised his hand to my dad as he walked up to him and the girl. "Stop sir, for your own good". My father was stunned for a moment, and then went to reach for his gun because it sounded like a threat to him. My dad saw his partner's eyes transfixed, and his body frozen. My dad's hand froze on his gun. Then my dad told me the weirdest thing I've ever heard in my life:

"This kid, Varamount, put his hand back down, turned to the young girl, who wrapped her arms around him, and as he wrapped his arms around her, they just faded into nothing... no sparks, no flash, smoke, just disappeared."

My dad and his partner tried to follow up on the case the next day by going to Varamount's listed home address. It was an empty house.

My dad to this day doesn't want to talk about the case, and says "it's not what you want to hear or find out about, so just leave it at that." ©2010 Domain owners of Tammy Keith dot com
Zeb from Milwaukee, WiIve heard a lot of the different theories about this song's meaning. One i havent seen mentioned is the Zodiac Killer.The Zodiac killer used to say in his letters that he killed people so they would be his slaves in the afterworld which fits with the line i promise youll stay beautiful forever. he also killed a woman picnicking with her BF by a lake wich would explain the mentioning of a lake. i dont know, its up to you which interpretation you believe
Shawn from Ellenboro, NcI always thought it was about luring a virgin for her first time.
Josh from Pittsburgh, Palol i play this song when we go possum runnin!
and i just think its hilarious
Sasha from Nyc, NyThis song always hooked w/those beginning guitar riffs, then the words of seduction...wait, something is terribly wrong here. Funny, after "my dark secret" I took it to be a man enticing a girl into a suicide pact. So I can kind of see where people got the vampire idea, from the stay you & beautiful and I took the "I will treat you kind" to mean it would be painless.I usually shut it off at about the "do you wanna die?" point. kinda reminds me of watching Rocky Horror, great fun until things fall apart & really go wrong. Because I like the beginning, I am just going to listen & forget about the the rape story, it's not they're giving us a life lesson.
Lynn from Carbondale, IlThe great thing about art/music is it is open to interpretation. Maybe this is why the band never appointed a true meaning to the song. Before reading anything about the song, it struck me as either a song about eternal youth, either from becoming a vampire or thru death (you don't age if you die). But, after reading much about the satanic influence in the music industry, I think another interpretation could be: "make up your mind decide to walk with me around the lake tonight by my side"=decide to side with evil, walk around the "lake" as in "lake of fire", tonight as in always night in hell; "i didn't mean to scare you so help me jesus"=the devil wants to appear as your friend/trustworthy and mocks jesus by using his name in vain; "you'll stay as beautiful, etc."=the devil makes false promises to tempt people to his side; "give it up to me, do you wanna be my angel?"=give your soul to me and be one of my "angels" as in fallen angels. Like I said, it's open to interpretation and this is just one of the possibilities. Y'all take care.
Ethan from Livingston, Njthis song is not about vampires. it's possibly just a sick, dark interpretation of a murder at Possum Kingdom, and the lyrics really explain the insanity and evilness of whatever events took place there, whether it was murder or something perhaps more extreme.
Jt from Eagle, WiIts not about a vampire ar tard, its about a rapeist that lures girls to a lake called possum kngdome, go read twilight
Brad from Boston, MaI agree with "Mel!ssa" from PA and "x34460" from FL.
The lyrics speak to me about a vampire.
"I'll show you my dark secret"

"I can promise you You'll stay as beautiful
With dark hair And soft skin...forever"

"Make up your mind"
(Note: Rape victims really have no choice)

Just my take. Regardless of what the band says.
Merissa from Grosse Pointe, MiThis song is about murder.
possiably rape,google it.
If you watch the video,pay no mind to the song,play the video slowly if it moves to fast for you but pay attention to the detail its about murder and any one who has stated this before is correct.
Charlie from Longview, TxHeres a google maps link to Possum Kingdom. Theres a state park there.

I really cant believe people would think this is about vampires when all us, quote, "dumb rednecks" in Texas. know what its about.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Possum+Kingdom&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hl=en&cd=1&geocode=Fa5d9gEd3voh-g&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&ll=32.831135,-97.875824&spn=0.891983,1.785278&z=10
Wolf from Brooklyn, NyResponse to Epsie: In the vid, he is dragging a body. The ice block is separate, it's not inside the body bag. At 2:22 it becomes clear that the ice block is not within the bag. At 2:38, he is shown clearly dragging two objects and there are two ropes. In the vid he is digging a grave and sculpts the ice block into a bust as a marker. The ice block is not buried. The song is clearly about a murder, both in the lyrics and the accompanying video.
Tara from Wittenberg, WiAs many have been saying, it is CLEARLY obvious that this song is about rape... Lyrics "give it up to me, give it up to me, do you wanna be my angel?" has set that strait for me. I got into an argument last night about this song with someone, they claimed it was about asking forgiveness for something they did wrong in a relationship.. WRONG.. And as far as was The Toadies said as in the questioning, OBVIOUSLY no one wants to admit their song is about rape. On the same cd this one is on they have another song ALSO about rape. READ BETWEEN THE LINES!
Epsie from Stockton, CaThis is a response to what Thomas from Rochester said... if you watch the video in the end you find out the thing he is dragging in a bag is an Ice Sculpture not a body...
Mel!ssa from Pittsburgh, PaHaving read all the vampire chronicles by Anne Rice...this song is the perfect picture of Louis becoming a vampire. Well, I guess images from the movie help a bit, too. The movie came out in 1994 and this song was released in 1995. So..
X34460 from Anytown, FlYOU ARE ALL A BUNCH OF.....
Music enthusiasts who are all correct in their individual interpretations of this song's "real meaning". Whatever anybody thinks the song is about is right. Nobody is "wrong". While the band may know what they meant when they wrote it, whatever it means to you is why you enjoy it, therefore making it "right".
I was 21 when this song was new and today is my first time seeing the video, as a result of this topic.
I'm glad cable tv was not available in my area back then because it saved me from having to be SHOWN what the MUSIC is supposed to mean versus listening with my ears and allowing my mind's eye to create it's own imagery and meaning.

Videos are nice and I appreciate the creative efforts of a great many of them but consider this: ever said to yourself or heard someone say "loved the movie but the book was much better"? same idea applies here.
This song means whatever it means to you just as all songs should. That's what makes each memorable song so important to us as individuals. We appreciate it because of what it means to us.
-x
Barb from Virginia Beach, VaThis is info I found on the net. This comes from an interview with the band called "TOADIES Rubbernecking across the States"
Published in: RIP Date: December 1995 pg. 34 Texas Tall Tunes 'N' Tunes by jennifer clay

"When we were in Detroit a stripper came up...and we were making fun of the news clipping we got that [said] strippers in Fort Worth were dancing to 'Possum Kingdom', and she was like, 'Oh, are you guys upset about that?'" recalls Umbarger. "And I'm like, 'No, not really. I just think it's kind of funny.' And she said, 'Oh good, 'cause I'm a stripper and last night I danced to 'Possum Kingdom.' "

"I asked her if she knew what it was about," continues Lewis. "And she goes, 'Yeah, the nasty!' Those strippers have their fingers on the pulse of the music world."

"And a lot of other things..." Herbert interjects.

"I heard that strippers made Green Day what they are. I heard that before Green Day even got radio play, strippers were dancing to Green Day," Umbarger continues.

Laughing, Lewis says: "Strippers broke that new Alanis Morissette record!"

Stripper aside, "Possum Kingdom" is not about "doing the nasty." It, like most of Toadies' tunes, are stories, as Umbarger explains while Lewis excuses himself to grab a tissue. "They're just these silly stories he's heard his family tell. Like 'Tyler' and 'Possum Kingdom' are just like stories...In Texas, there's just this big storytelling thing - whenever your family gets together, they sit and talk and tell all these stories. 'Possum Kingdom' is a ghost story."

"Possum Kingdom is a lake. One of the ten best fishin' spots in the U.S.," Lewis says upon returning.

Is it a about a ghost or vampire at the lake?

Everyone laughs. Man-of-mystery Lewis replies: "I don't know."

?It's not about vampires," Umbarger insists. "Even though we have a big underground vampire following in Florida. They come with their teeth and everything. I'm not lying about that, that's a real story. They'll show up and you'll be talking to someone, and they'll smile and it's like, 'Jesus Christ! You've got fangs!' And they're like, 'Yeah. It's a vampire thing.' So we have this big vampire underground following, and 'Possum Kingdom' has kind of stirred it up."

So what's it really about, then?

Not missing a beat, Lewis replies: "Vampires."
Laughter breaks out yet again. "It's just a story I heard long ago; it's just a really cool, eerie lake, and some stuff I heard and some stuff I just make up. I tend to do that," Lewis explains about the watering hole where his family used to hang out and barbecue. "They dammed up this big river up there, and it's got all these spooky names like Hell's Gate. It's really cool."
Laura from New Ro,, Nywatch the music video, it pretty much explains what the song is about.
Thomas from Rocherster, Nyif you guys watch the vid, its more than obvious that there is a body being dragged through water. this is big proof that this song is about murder @ possum kingdom. dont believe me? http://youtube.com/watch?v=F5Cf5OusjrQ
Andrew from Graham, TxAnd theres only one possum kingdom.
Andrew from Graham, TxI am from Graham, Tx. Its about ten minutes from Possum Kingdom lake. There were no murders, and Possum kingdom is not a place in Texas. The song is about a single rape that happend in the 90's.
Megan from Fort Worth, Txthe song is not about a vampire. That is absurd. I am from Texas and the song is definitely about a rape that happened at Possum Kingdom.
Jennifer from Manistique, MiI feel like this song is definitly about a sexy vampire who has found his blushing bride and wants to make her his. that is the dark secret. the song is incredibly sexy!! The vocals are dark and sensual. The whole song is hot.
Matt from Labrador City, CanadaIn response to Bluejay from Keamy, NJ.

You've misinterprted the lyric. He sings, "I want you for mine, my blushing bride."
Brain from Fort Worth, TxAnother interpretation is that it's based on the 17th century poem "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell, in which he tries to convince his mistress to have sex with him.
Meghan from Somerset, Kyfunny thing... when this song came out on the radios.... i was dating my first b/f... he worked at a boatdock... and i had my first kiss at the boat house with him...

he is dead now... but this song reminds me of those days... and his dark secret... R.I.P. Mike F.
Jordan from Wichita Falls, TxI go to possum kingdom (PK) every year and the rumor is in fact true i dont know how but it is trust me..
Tracy from St Paul, MnThe meaning is obvious,,i cant believe so many people come up with so many different opinions. Its about the murders in Possum Kingdom TX,,whether they are factual word for word or varied to fit into lyrics is irrelevant. Only thing that matters is the song is kick ass. And the dude was a psycho who killed women. All of the vampire interpretations are hilarious tho,,keep up the ahhhh, ummm, good work.
Rich from Ny, NyI don't have any backing for this opinion, but I think it is about a guy "luring" a girl/his girlfriend to some place that they can be alone to have sex. To me, the lyrics imply that she is a virgin, and nervous with going through with it. He seems honest at times ("I'm not gonna lie, I'll not be a gentleman"), yet I can't say he is actually entirely being kind; he seems to be lying a bit so he can get laid lol ("I can promise you, you will stay as beautiful"). Nothing seems forced ("don't be afriad, I didn't mean to scare you"). It seems like the decision is up to her to come with him ("make up your mind"). The other supposed factual reports pretty much prove this mostly incorrect haha. Anyway..just my interpretation.
Diana from Louisville, Kyok they may say its not about a vampire, but anyone who knows knows it is. Anne Rice always speaks of the vampire as having, "the dark secret" as do othe authors. Everyone knows that vamipres "stay young with dark hair forever". Even more obscure vampire fans know that COunt Vlad, upon which Dracula is based lived his final days at Lake Snagow in Eastern Europe and was often escorted to his home after impaling or toturing vicims by the monks by boathouse and there was a boathouse at Lake Snagow.The lyrics become so simple after you view them in context. E-mail me wit your opinions.
Nicole from Nottellin, OrAn interview with the band that I read said that the song is their elaborating or adding fiction to an alleged murder that took place near the lake, but that also the song is open to other meanings. The band definitely said it is NOT about a vampire.
Matt from Texas, TxThe song is about a couple who broke up. The guy took his girlfreind behind the boathouse at opossum (yes opossum)Kingdom and brutally murdered her.(stabbed or strangled, one or the other)
Keith from Front Royal, VaWhat Cari from Moscow, Texas posted was exactly correct. A matter of fact actually, making opinions irrelevant.
Eve from Boston, MaSorry, Bluejay, the lyrics read "blushing bride," not "flesh and blood." One for the misheard lyrics sites, perhaps?
Mechelle from Anaheim, Cai thnk the song says "i want you for mine, my blushing bride"
Jessica from Natick, Mathe meaning actaully was disclosed. its about a vampire.
Joe from Long Island, NyI think this song is a bout the devil - trying to get someone to sell there soul to him - and in return she/he will have eternal life, and be beautiful for the rest of life - but just an opinion.
Anthony from Morgantown, WvI always thought it was the vampire thing. If you listen to the lyrics it sounds like hes trying to get her to like him even though hes a vampire. And when he says do you wanna die? i think he means something like do you wanna die and live forever with me. Like if he bites her she'll die but she'll be a vampire. Just my thought but i thought it out pretty well.
Antonin from Los Angeles, CaI always thought this song was a little dark, but I never thought it was about murder. I assumed they meant death in the french sense of the word meaning "little death".
Cari from Moscow, Txpossum Kingdom, Texas is known for the horrible murders that happened in its state park. The song is the bands interpretation of what happened in those murders. The remains of a boathouse as mentioned in the song were still at the campgrounds as of 2001. The murderer supposedly lured the women to his boathouse, then raped and murdered them...
Bluejay from Kearny, Njthe band never did disclose the actual meaning of the song leaving it open. Another interpretation is that it is about incest, the speaker says, "I want you for mine, my flesh and blood." Although there is more than one lake named Possum Kingdom, the band in question is from Texas.

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