DENIAL IS A RIVER

Doechii’s “DENIAL IS A RIVER” has been breaking the internet and records the past month. From it’s brutally honest lyrics discussing addiction, fame and infidelity, the track is a piece of art.

It’s the 4th track off her 2024 album “Alligator Bites Never Heal”, which made multiple “The Best Albums of 2024”, including receiving high praise from NME, Rolling Stone, NPR & more.

 

Intro:

We see Doechii speak to an alter-ego therapist at the beginning of the song, where they talk back and forth about how Doechii hasn’t spoken to them since her last EP “Oh The Places You’ll Go” in 2020.

The “therapist” tells Doechii how people have been worried about her, and how she’s been getting some calls from people. Doechii is surprised; and the therapist encourages her to share the latest details of her life.

Verse 1:

Doechii recounts how the relationship she was in in 2019 ended, finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her. First she thought it was with another woman, but discovered it was a man.

Doechii admits to moving on fairly quickly and releasing a few more songs then getting signed to a record label. It’s now 2021.

 

Interlude 1:

The therapist interjects, telling Doechii that she should take a second to process what happened to her, perhaps try and unpack the relationship and to talk about her cheating ex.

Doechii abruptly declines and doesn’t allow any time or space to discuss what happened – she moves onto the next stage of her life.

 

Verse 2:

Doechii is now going viral, releasing records that are going Platinum and reaping the financial rewards of her hard work and success.

She admits that things are happening so fast that she hasn’t got time to process, and is always working. She states that her label want her to be more active on TikTok and make music that would be popular on the app, to which Doechii says: “what the f*ck?”

Doechii now says it’s 2023, but interrupts herself in a moment of vulnerability.

 

Interlude 2:

Doechii admits that she can’t keep pretending that everything was great, and that it was an incredibly difficult and dark time in her life.

The therapist interjects to ask if it was to do with drugs, to which Doechii is originally reluctant to answer.

The therapist promises she won’t judge and is just asking, to which Doechii eventually gives in and talks about her previous experience with addiction.

 

Verse 3:

Doechii is at her most vulnerable and honest in this verse; she admits she likes doing drugs – be it alcohol, pills or anything else that can make her good, as her self worth is incredibly damaged at this time and at “an all time low”.

She then admits that her ex broke into her home and destroyed everything she owns, and admits that she is at breaking point:

“I ain’t a killer but don’t push me!”

This part of the song went viral on TikTok and lead to many users lip-syncing this genius verse.

 

Outro:

The therapist quickly jumps in and tells Doechii that she wouldn’t want to “resort back to your old ways”, and tells Doechii to do a breathing exercise.

The song then ends, leading listeners to wonder whether the breathing exercise worked, or did Doechii finally reach her breaking point?

 

From the title “DENIAL IS A RIVER”, which alludes to Doechii’s inability to be truthful and how denial can be a long and winding road or path, to the therapist alter-ego and the story progression, the track is genius.

It speaks of human issues from heartbreak to loneliness; wealth to addiction and anger and mental health. Doechii’s ability to make listeners feel as if they are the ones having this insightful conversation with her rather than her alter-ego, is incredibly intelligent.

Read the lyrics to “DENIAL IS A RIVER” here.

*All information accurate at the time of publishing (28th January 2025).