The Purification of Water
"The Purification of Water" | |||||
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Demo by Rivers Cuomo | |||||
Album | Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo | ||||
Released | November 25, 2008 | ||||
Recorded | July 1993 | ||||
Length | 3:55 | ||||
Label | Geffen | ||||
Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | ||||
RC# | 133 | ||||
Producer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | ||||
Status | Released | ||||
Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo track listing | |||||
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Rivers Cuomo song chronology | |||||
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"The Purification of Water" is a demo by Rivers Cuomo and the third track from Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo.
Appearances
Overview
"The Purification of Water" is first known to have been recorded in the summer of 1992. This early version of the song was first heard by fans in 2020 when it was leaked through the demo storefront on riverscuomo.com on November 7, before being made available for purchase thereafter as part of the compilation Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years. A second version of the song, recorded by Cuomo in July of 1993 and the first to be heard by fans, was initially uploaded online by Cuomo in the early 2000s. A higher-quality version of this recording was released in 2008 as part of the album Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo.
Personnel
- Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals, percussion, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, keyboard
Audio
Lyrics

1993 lyrics (Alone II)
Everybody told me
And I knew it myself
Don't drink the water
It's bad for your health
But God, it's hot; I had no choice
The sun it burned down on me
Even though they told me so
I drank it deep, drank it deep
Even though, we both know
What we know, we can't say no
The world is blind to what it finds
The world is blind though the sun shines
Now I kneel
Before the sacred basin
And offer up
The sweetest of all sin
But God, it's hot; I had no choice
The sun it burned down on me
Even though they told me so
I drank it deep, drank it deep
Even though, we both know
What we know, we can't say no
The world is blind to what it finds
The world is blind though it shines
Known recordings
Performer(s) | Title | Filename | Date of recording | Recording location | Length | Appeared on | Notes |
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Rivers Cuomo | The Purification of Water | 02 The Purification of Water.MP3 | Summer 1992 | 2226 Amherst Avenue | 2:53 | Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years | |
Rivers Cuomo | The Purification of Water | July 1993 | 3:55 | Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo |