River

July 10, 2019 • 2 min read

[preacher]
just hollow shells of what had once held vibrant life
you hear me right now
no matter how much else you may have going for you
if the river ever leaves
you die

[chorus]
if i go down by the river to pray
i don't even know what i'll say
i guess i'll save it for another day
but lord i gotta know
if somehow my body dies before i awaken
where will my soul be taken
i guess we'll save that for another day
lord save me just another day

[verse 1]
stuck inside this train of thought
slowly getting derailed by the pain of loss
trying to paint this picture, fuck it
paint it black, paint it all
still not even sure if i'm gon make it far
all i know is that
i've earned every single thing i've got, paid the cost
still gonna be humble, even after taking off
still gonna give thank yous to the ones who led the path when i was lost
but i'm distraught
looking back on my life, my family, my relationship with em
to claim this patience to a villain
patiently awaiting cancer to kill them
and still i
won't sing my sorrows through them church pews
it's hard to talk to god when i ain't following his virtues

damn

all this in a verse
gift and a curse
personal thoughts that i write in a letter
for people that won't even care what i say
cuz they'll say that our old shit is better
and streaming's free so they probably ain't even bought this album
still we ain't shit without em

i gotta calm myself and quit this shouting
mama telling me to pray about it, clearly
and i doubt he'll hear me

[verse 2]
if i told you that i was the son of god would you believe me
if i came to you in the night with the light where you could see me
if i lit up the world and destroyed everything that was evil
yet i'm drowning in this river persecuted by my people

i was baptized and the water turned black
cuz i'm thrown off course and my mind's off track
set my compass due north but i turned right back
the footprints in the sand were that hard to track

man

cuz i done read all the scriptures from egyptian onto the christian
and it's kinda hard for me to sit and listen
and my mind ain't getting better
second guessing everything i've ever known
so i'm stressing, that's my lesson

you speak to me in riddles and expect me not to question
and just take everything that gets thrown at me as a blessing
i've got a strong mind, i'm not trying to play the victim
cuz i believe in you
i just do not believe you listen

[preacher]
they didn't come to see a show...somebody told em!
their cancer could be healed here...somebody told em!
their life could be changed here...
and you don't change that with technology
and you don't change that with program
and you don't change that with production
i tell you what does that
it's a bunch of people that stay in touch
with the river!!!

loves