"The River Knows My Name" lyrics
Where the river knows my name
I can wash away my pain
Scars and all them stains
I let that water take the blame
And every current pulls the truth
From the lies I tried to tame
Now, I feel that grace with every single drop of rain
I been lost and I been found
I been drunk and I been down
But that old muddy water always brings me back around
I hear God off in the distance
See that fire in the pain
I'm standing on this bank now, where the river knows my name
See: my mamma prayed for my soul
My daddy worked in the clay
And I was deep off in that hole
'Til I heard them angels say
"You got a six pack of mistakes, boy
And a trunk load of them sins
And that current—it won't judge you, brother
But it'll pull you in
That water—see: it don't give a damn about the lies that you told
And it'll cleanse your soul as the story goes, if your heart is getting cold."
So, I threw away my demons standing high atop that ridge
And I watched 'em sink
And I didn't blink
'Cause I never burnt that bridge
With a pistol in my glove box and nightmares in my head
I should probably be a ghost by now
Here I am half-dead
Somewhere in-between that flood and all them flames
I heard a whisper in the air
The river called my name
Where the river knows my name
I can wash away my pain
Scars and all them stains
I let that water take the blame
And every current pulls the truth
From the lies I tried to tame
Now, I feel that grace with every single drop of rain
And I been lost and I been found
And I been drunk and I been down
But that old muddy water always brings me back around
I hear God off in the distance
See that fire in the pain
I'm standing on this bank now, where the river knows my name
I been dragging my regrets like a chain through that mud
And every secret that I kept turned to rust in my blood
My reflection in the current—yeah. It stared me down
He said, "It's sing or swim, home boy,"
But I ain't gonna drown
I ain't running from my past
I ain't trying to hide my name
Now, I'm wading in that water
My heart: unashamed
I stepped off that bank
I let that water pull me deep
All the memories of violence started drifting in my sleep
I heard the gospel in the ripples
My mamma in the breeze
I heard my daddy in the silence
I was down on my knees
The weight fell off my shoulders
The sun fell on my face
And the devil lost his grip
And the angels took his place
I can wash away my pain
Scars and all them stains
I let that water take the blame
And every current pulls the truth
From the lies I tried to tame
Now, I feel that grace with every single drop of rain
I been lost and I been found
I been drunk and I been down
But that old muddy water always brings me back around
I hear God off in the distance
See that fire in the pain
I'm standing on this bank now, where the river knows my name
See: my mamma prayed for my soul
My daddy worked in the clay
And I was deep off in that hole
'Til I heard them angels say
"You got a six pack of mistakes, boy
And a trunk load of them sins
And that current—it won't judge you, brother
But it'll pull you in
That water—see: it don't give a damn about the lies that you told
And it'll cleanse your soul as the story goes, if your heart is getting cold."
So, I threw away my demons standing high atop that ridge
And I watched 'em sink
And I didn't blink
'Cause I never burnt that bridge
With a pistol in my glove box and nightmares in my head
I should probably be a ghost by now
Here I am half-dead
Somewhere in-between that flood and all them flames
I heard a whisper in the air
The river called my name
Where the river knows my name
I can wash away my pain
Scars and all them stains
I let that water take the blame
And every current pulls the truth
From the lies I tried to tame
Now, I feel that grace with every single drop of rain
And I been lost and I been found
And I been drunk and I been down
But that old muddy water always brings me back around
I hear God off in the distance
See that fire in the pain
I'm standing on this bank now, where the river knows my name
I been dragging my regrets like a chain through that mud
And every secret that I kept turned to rust in my blood
My reflection in the current—yeah. It stared me down
He said, "It's sing or swim, home boy,"
But I ain't gonna drown
I ain't running from my past
I ain't trying to hide my name
Now, I'm wading in that water
My heart: unashamed
I stepped off that bank
I let that water pull me deep
All the memories of violence started drifting in my sleep
I heard the gospel in the ripples
My mamma in the breeze
I heard my daddy in the silence
I was down on my knees
The weight fell off my shoulders
The sun fell on my face
And the devil lost his grip
And the angels took his place
