The River
PJ Harvey * Track #10 On Is This Desire?
Download "The River"
Album Is This Desire?
The River by PJ Harvey
Release Date
Performed by
PJ HarveyWrited by
PJ HarveyAbout
The lyrics of this song are almost entirely paraphrased or quoted verbatim from the Flannery O'Connor short story The River, about a young boy whose parents send him off with a babysitter, who takes him to a revival meeting at the river to be baptized.
The River Lyrics
[Verse 1]
And they came to the river
And they came from the road
And he wanted the sun
Just to call his own
And they walked on the dirt
And they walked from the road
Till they came to the river
Till they came up close
[Chorus]
Throw your pain in the river
Throw your pain in the river
Leave your pain in the river
To be washed away slow
[Pre-Chorus]
And we walked without words
And we walked with our lives
Two silent birds
Circled by
[Chorus]
Like our pain in the river
And the pain in the river
And the white sun scattered
Washed away this slow
[Verse 2]
And we followed the river
And we followed the road
And we walked through this land
And we called it our home
But he wanted the sun
And I wanted the whole
And the white light scatters
And the sun sets low
[Chorus]
Like our pain in the river
Like our pain in the river
Like the white light scatters
To be washed away slow
Like our pain in the river
Like our pain in the river
Like the way life scattered
To be washed away slow