[Verse 1]
The posters go up Sunday
Announcing a parade
We'll gather at the rite of spring
And storm the barricade
Then trip along the telegraph
Sagging to the sea
Where the faithful bring their baskets down and
Set their children free
[Chorus]
How else could go my gospel
Who else would I be saved
Without you as the water standing here
Behind this wave?
[Verse 2]
The ponies have been blinded
From working in the sun
We'll stand them in the river
To their knees when day is done
They pull along the captives
Kneeling at the rails
To drive them into this land's heart and soul
With blood and nails
[Chorus]
How else could go my gospel
Who else would I be saved
Without you as the water standing here
Behind this wave?
[Verse 3]
I've come to waking early
To watch the light extend
The way a fraying thread is proud
When letting down your hem
Heads move by my window
But hats are held by hand
In honor of the wind that comes
Rethinking every man
[Chorus]
How else could go my gospel
Who else would I be saved
Without you as the water standing here
Behind this wave?
[Verse 4]
There's beauty in the making
Of what will go unseen
Or how we might dissemble
What may ever come between
We hardly share a language
But we give the ghost a name
You have kept its promise
And its kept you much the same
[Chorus]
How else could go my gospel
Who else would I be saved
Without you as the water standing here
Behind this wave?
Joe Henry released The Gospel According to Water on Fri Nov 15 2019.