Before you head out on your journey, son
There’s something I need to say
That’s why we’re here at this fishin’ hole
Here’s why it had to be today
Your train leaves first thing in the mornin’
You’ve outgrown this little mountain town
You’re as happy as a pig in a bunch of mud
and laughin’ out loud like a circus clown
You see the water carvin’ through those rocks
But have you thought about how or why
I’ve been ponderin’ about it for a while
Then I finally hit the bullseye
What the river does,
is it never stops
It’s like a field
of never-ending crops
Ever changing
and doin’ what it’s supposed to do
What the river does,
is set an example for me and you
It keeps on going
and fighting like a champ
It shines so brightly
like that oil burning lamp
Mom and I bought you
when you first learned how to read
And that river, she’s flowing
at a slow and steady speed
Keep this thought with you
all the rest of your days
What the river does,
is consistently blaze
In case you missed it,
what we must do is passionately exist
We’re here to love
and persist, persist, persist
That’s what the river does
That’s what the river does
That’s what the river does
That’s what the river does.
2017
Lyric Notes: Semi-related to conversations I’ve had with my father over the years, this is what I dreamed that he was saying to me as I venture now into my songwriting career, not college. At the end of his life, he told me to follow my passion. And persist, persist, persist. I am coming up with ideas consistently, much like I think I should be. Here’s to the writers who keep persisting and give their all to their work. Here’s to the rivers for what they do, too.