This song is about the accidental drowning of country singer Jeff Buckley on May 29, 1997 in Wolf River Harbor, a channel of the Mississippi River.
Once in a while
A man comes along
Even his failures were favorite songs
Oh to have made something so unsurpassed
As certain things fall away
So certain things last
A body goes down
In the Mississippi waters
Weighted by a beauty
Afraid of its light
Notify your holy men
Console your sons and daughters
And tell me one more time
What is just
What is right
Chances are good
We spread blasphemous lies
Safe to say nobody knew what was inside
Of course there is grace
And those halos of pain
Maybe he sang what he came here to sing
Chorus
Speed on to the next world
Speed on to the next life
Better I'm sure by far
Orpheus driven
Treasures given
Heal the most broken of hearts
Speed on, speed on, speed on