Straight out of York, PA and straight into our hearts.

Back in the days of albums, this song SLAYED me. Of course radio had been playing "Selling The Drama" and "I Alone", but neither of those songs were the first track. "The Dam At Otter Creek" was. And it was such a good track 1.

The slow build up of the music out of nothing, the distortion on the guitar, that slight atmosphere behind it all. The lyrics and story telling of the whole song, it made it dramatic and intense. Ed Kowalczyk lays down the first verse in the whole damn album, and it's THIS?!

"When all that's left to do is
reflect on what's been done.
This is where sadness breaths,
the sadness of everyone."

Phenomenal.

He starts singing that almost haunting "Be here now" for the pre-chorus (or whatever the hell it's called) and the rest of the instruments start showing up at 1:56. The tempo speeds up, the distortion gets heavier, and the band kicks you in the brain with a hit at 2:45. The lyrics get darker and more morose, but the music and singing gets more aggressive. It all speeds up, Ed is KILLING it on the vocals, cymbols are crashing and it all crescendo's at just over 4 minutes.

It's not a good song. It's a GREAT song, and an amazing first track of an amazing album. As a matter of fact, my favorite tracks on "Throwing Copper" are the first and the last. The middle is amazing, but the bookends make it an all time great.

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