Verse 1
I was born where the pine trees bend
To the sound of the whistle’s cry
Mama hummed through a washboard song
While the coal train rattled by
Daddy’s hands were a map of years
Cracked and dark with pain
He said, “Son, if you lose your way
Let the river know your name”
Verse 2
I learned my prayers from a broken book
With half the pages torn
Learned my sins from the back of a barn
And the night I first stayed gone
I loved a girl with an April laugh
And eyes like summer rain
But she wanted wings, and I had roots
So I gave her up to the plain
Chorus
Oh the river rolls, and the river stays
Long after we’re gone
It’s seen our blood and our borrowed days
Heard every broken song
When my voice gives out and my hands let go
And I ain’t what I became
Lay me down where the water bends
’Cause the river knows my name
Verse 3
I worked my years for a dollar thin
In a mill that ate the light
Every dream cost a little more
Every rest took a fight
I buried friends in borrowed coats
Watched the young turn gray
We laughed too loud at funeral meals
’Cause silence makes you pray
Verse 4
Now my hair’s gone white like river foam
My back’s like a splintered door
Still hear that train in the early dawn
Like it’s askin’ for more
If I’ve done wrong, I’ve done my best
If I’ve loved, I’ve loved plain
Ain’t lookin’ up for a golden crown
Just down to that bend again
Chorus
Oh the river rolls, and the river stays
Long after we’re gone
It’s seen our blood and our borrowed days
Heard every broken song
When my voice gives out and my hands let go
And I ain’t what I became
Lay me down where the water bends
’Cause the river knows my name
Bridge
I ain’t afraid of the dirt and dark
Or the cold, quiet sound
I’ve been low as a man can get
And still found solid ground
If there’s a God, He walks that shore
With mud on His boots the same
He don’t need much, just a humble heart
And a river to remember a name
Final Chorus
So let the river roll, let the river stay
When I’m just a whispering flame
Tell my story to the reeds and stones
And the boys who come the same
When the last light fades and the world moves on
Past fortune, past blame
Lay me down where the water bends
’Cause the river knows my name
Outro
Yeah, the river knows my name.
