If You Go Down the River

When I was young I climbed all the trees by the river

I saw the boats arrive through the leaves

Selling their wares, a gathering threats in the little square

We'd buy their cloth and send them on their way

They'd tell their stories from the river

The wonders they saw, the towns beyond the waves

My friends and I dreamed of this journey for all of our lives

We laughed as the village disappeared along with out trust

Maybe temptation could not tear these tangled knots apart

but the greed, a madness, dancing inside every one of us

When you go down the river

Listen out for the footsteps and sleep, hand on your knife

When you go down the river

They might be your friends, but be the last to close your eyes,

Don't close your eyes

When I returned I washed myself clean in the waterfall

The scars lost their anger, no blood left on my hands

I walked up the old street and saw my own brother

He crossed the road, wouldn’t even try to understand

I came back from the river

This village small, suspicious and plain

If you go down the river

The people so cold, they would never be the same,

It will never be the same