In a Pitchfork interview, frontman Christpher Owens said he wrote the song for someone else:
As I was writing ‘Love Like a River’, I could hear Beyoncé singing it, and it was beautiful. If she would do it, it would be a fucking number one hit, I guarantee you. But she’ll never speak to me, and she’...
My love is like a river
She just keeps on rolling along
No man ever can keep that girl from moving on
Easy as she comes by, easy as she's gone
Get down, real down
Crying how I love that girl
She's as free as heaven on a breeze
Lay my burden down
Down by the river's edge
There I learned to let my lover be
And don't you know I'd hold you (Hold you, oh yeah)
If I could find a way (Oh yeah, oh yeah)
If I could only catch you (Ooh, catch you, oh yeah)
If only you would stay (Stay, stay)
And don't you know I want you (Want you, want you)
Baby, baby, baby, baby stay (Stay, yeah)
If I could only love you (Love me)
But, girl, you keep on running away, running away, running away
Oh oh no no (Yeah)
My love is like a river
Love Like a River was written by Christopher Owens.
Love Like a River was produced by Doug Boehm & Chet “JR” White & Christopher Owens.
Girls released Love Like a River on Wed Sep 07 2011.