Songfacts®:

• Lead vocalist Bear Rinehart admitted that Needtobreath were very close to calling it quits, but somewhere in making Rivers In the Wasteland, they rediscovered the passion for music and appreciation for each other. This song describes where the South Carolina rockers were at the beginning of the recording process. "'Wasteland' is about feeling like, 'Man, we're at the bottom, but there is some hope,'" Rinehart explained to Billboard magazine. "A lyric in the song says 'there's a crack in the door filled with light' that is really where we were when we started the record. It was bleak, but at the same time, something was happening."
  
  "We are here for a reason and we ended up naming the record Rivers in the Wasteland because we really felt like that hope, something came out of nothing," he continued. "We started loving each other and enjoying the moment and immediately things started being more inspired. We started getting surprised by what was happening rather than dictating everything. That's really what the record is about."