When The River Runs Dry (cover)

The Single

Released In: [Australia / NZ] [USA].

Release Date: 1989 (Australia), 1990 (USA).

Australian Chart Position: #23 (ARIA) / #22 (AMR).

Single Availability: Moderately rare.

Value: A$4-A$20.

All Australian single versions had The Price Of Freedom as a b-side, while the 12″ and CD versions added Wishing Well as a b-side.

US CD single includes The Price Of Freedom and Two Roads. US CD promo single simply had the single and album versions of When The River Runs Dry.

Original Version(s)

Version	Length	Source	Availability
Studio [1]	5:02	Ghost Nation album.	Extremely common. Available new in CD and digital form.
Studio [1]	5:01	Natural Selection / Greatest Hits album and video.	Extremely common. Available new in CD, CD/DVD, DVD and digital form.
Studio [1]	5:02	Crucible album.	Extremely common. Available new in CD and digital form.
Studio [1]	5:02	US CD versions of the When The River Runs Dry single.	Moderately rare. Not available new.
Studio [1]	5:02	Australian versions of Collected Works album and video.	Extremely common. Not available new.
Studio [1]	5:02	Sampler Ghost Nation EP.	Extremely rare. Not available new.
Studio [1]	5:02	Anthology album.	Moderately common. Available new in digital form.
Studio [2] Single	4:42	Australian versions of the When The River Runs Dry single.	Moderately rare. Not available new.
Studio [3] Single	3:37	US versions of the When The River Runs Dry single.	Moderately rare. Not available new.
Studio [3] Single	3:37	US versions of the When The River Runs Dry single.	The Vault digital download at True Believers, 14 August 2016.
Studio [4] Rough	5:07	1989 05 14 Ghost Nation Roughs VHS PCM.	The Vault digital download at True Believers, 26 October 2014.
Studio [5] Original Mix	5:42	1989 Ghost Nation Original Mixes Cassette.	The Vault digital download at True Believers, 21 February 2016.
Live Acoustic [1]	3:49	Australian Holy Grail single.	Moderately rare. Not available new.
Live Acoustic [2]	4:53	Living In Large Rooms and Lounges album.	Extremely common. Available new in CD and digital form.
Live Acoustic [3]	3:57	Mark Seymour Daytime and the Dark album.	Moderately common. Available new in CD and digital form.
Live Acoustic [3]	3:55	Best of Acoustic album.	Moderately common. Available new in CD and digital form.
Live Acoustic [4]	4:47	Raw Material #14 1996 05 26 Continental Cafe album.	The Vault Desk Tape streaming audio.
Live [1]	5:06	Australian Where Do You Go? single.	Moderately rare. Not available new.
Live [2]	5:59	Under One Roof / Greatest Hits Live album and video.	Extremely common. Available new in CD, DVD and digital form.
Live [3]	7:33	Sound Relief video.	Extremely common. Available new in DVD form.
Live [4]	7:45	Live 2014 box set – Enmore 2 album.	Extremely rare. Not available new.
Live [5]	7:01	Live 2014 digital album (2017 version).	Moderately common. Available new in digital form.
Live [5]	7:01	Live 2014 box set – Palais 2 album.	Extremely rare. Not available new.
Live [6]	4:17	Mark Seymour From Bondi to Bedlam album and video.	Moderately common. Available new in CD, DVD and digital form.
Live [7]	4:37	Mark Seymour Roll Back The Stone album.	Moderately common. Available new in CD and digital form.
Live [8]	6:38	Raw Material #10 1989 04 04 Middle Park Hotel album.	The Vault Desk Tape streaming audio.
Live [9]	7:20	Raw Material #11 1991 01 08 Playroom album.	The Vault Desk Tape streaming audio.
Live [10]	6:31	Raw Material #12 1992 08 07 Metropolis album.	The Vault Desk Tape streaming audio.
Live [11]	6:20	Raw Material #13 1994 01 06 Transformers album.	The Vault Desk Tape streaming audio.
Live [12]	6:29	Raw Material #15 1998 01 05 Seagulls album.	The Vault Desk Tape streaming audio.
Live [13]	5:52	1998 02 06 MGM Casino Lawn, Darwin, Australia DAT.	The Vault digital download at True Believers, 27 May 2013.

Yes, there are two different versions both called the “single version”!

Recommended Version.

Cover Version(s)

Commentary

Comments from the Natural Selection liner notes (by Mark Seymour):

Middle class excess and the end of the world. Sydney travelogue. Rampant greed. The decline of western civilisation. The clip was one of those eighties monsters… bigger than Ben Hur and with a budget to match the theme. We strong armed the produces and got it made for half the original fee. The director was an anarchist.  Drove 1970 Valiant soft top with a 454 cubic inch V8. No drivers licence. Chain coke drinker. He devised a clip which investigated, fairly loosely, the encroaching effect of surveillance on our daily lives, and yet still managed to accompany this pithy message with images of very attractive women engaged in a range of activities, from champagne drinking on the north shore to hanging out clothes on a Hills hoist in Parramatta.

Lyrics

Good news for beautiful people
Watching the world go by
Make love in the middle of a warzone
Hey – ya never gonna die

Don’t rock the boat – keep your head down
You’re just another fool in the crowd
Everybody knows – you can be a winner
C’mon – shout it out loud

On the fat of the land I’ve been living
It’s only a matter of time
Sooner or later – you’ll open your eyes
And return to the scene of the crime

Dig deep at the top of the heap
Now you’ve bitten off the hand that feeds you
You got nothin’ but your soul to sell
You got nothin’

When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one last time
When the river runs dry

You’ve got the power I got the money
Another million miles to run
I’d cry – cry for the future
But I wouldn’t get anything done
Relax – abandon ship
Turn your back on Mother Nature
Blind luck and destiny – do me a favour

When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
When the river runs dry

Good news for beautiful people
Watching the world go by
Make love in the middle of a war zone
All of God’s children
Never gonna die

You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will run on you one more time

When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
When the river runs dry

I’m going home to where the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
It’s only a matter of time
Only a matter of time
When the river runs dry