Levies made of rebar, glass shards, and broken hearts

The paper mill, the brick kiln, the vacant factories

Once dumped their waste into the river now the water's all dirty

Well, kids come and go, some make it, some crawl off to die

Down on the river bank coming in and out with the tide

Come settle down, darling, let me tell you 'bout the time



It was just two years ago when I was seventeen

I went for a swim late one evening

My parents warned me not to go out alone

But I went any way yeah what the hell do they know?

It was the night I nearly drowned out, out in Old Scagg Slough

Well you don't have to listen but whatever you do

Don't think it can't happen to you



Well the surface seemed calm, the current seemed weak

As the waters got darker and the channel got deep

The tuley fog rolled in and killed the last satellite

The sun sunk behind the hills and the day became night

That's when I decided it was time I'd best head for home

But just then the current picked up and I felt some sort of undertow

Well I had no choice but to go with the flow



I thought, "I better not panic, I better keep my cool

Maybe I could wait it out and then regain control

I'm one helluva swimmer, besides, I'm too young to die

I'll find a way out further downstream if I have to wait all night"

Little did I know I was just adding to the mess

But I thought I'd be alright, I though I knew what to expect

But nothing coulda prepared me for what happened next.



Oh, I, I got caught in a whirlpool, I didn't know what to do

Everything started spinning, I got all confused

As I spun and plundered in the depths of my disease

Me, my mind, and I, the worst of enemies

It felt just like my life was going down the drain

And then I hit the bottom; it was as bad as it could be

I sunk in to the mud, left to rest in my misery



Oh I thought I was a goner, I thought I never stood a chance

But somehow I escaped and made it back to the surface

Everything was much clearer than it ever was before

I splashed around and then caught my breath and swam back to shore

Well two summers have passed since that night out on Old Scagg Slough

There's a lot of things I miss but one thing I know for sure

I ain't going swimming out in Old Scagg Slough no more

I ain't going swimming out in Old Scagg Slough no more