A Supermarket in California carried the dead into the underworld, across the river Styx. The River Lethe was a different river in the underworld, which caused those who drank its waters to experience complete forgetfulness. The shades of the dead were required to drink the waters of the Lethe in order to forget their earthly life. In "Story Line", Ian Marshall suggests that the poem is written to show the differences in American life depicted by Whitman and that which faces Ginsberg in the 1950s: "It's the distance of a century—with Civil War and the 'triumph' of the Industrial Revolution and Darwinism and Freud
The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place said "The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place" was the band's "attempt at love songs". The vinyl version of the album features etchings of birds on side D accompanied by the phrase "The Earth is not a cold dead place because you are breathing, because you are listening." "The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place" received positive reviews from critics, with a rating of 86 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". "Your Hand in Mine" was adapted for inclusion in the "Friday Night Lights" soundtrack, along with other original material