FAWM: "When the River"

When the River

2 weeks ago by @tseaver

When the River

tseaver

00:00

Liner Notes

Following the lead of dozens of early blues singers lamenting flooding.

#acoustic #blues #fingerstyle

© 2025 Tres Seaver (FAWM #5)

Lyrics

Verse

|: When the river comes up,
Better hope you've done enough. :|
Ain't no denyin',
We'll be hearin' moans and cryin'
When the river comes up.

Verse
|: When the river starts to rise,
Pray your levee's high enough. :|
Sandbags and shovels
Come too late to fix your troubles
When the river starts to rise.

Bridge
Waters boil and churn.
When, oh when will we learn?
Heavens quake and fall.
Is there a way out of it all?

Verse
|: When you hear the river roar,
Can you hold on 'til the morn? :|
As you run for higher ground
Do you hear a trumpet sound?
Or is it just the river's roar?

Tag
As you run for higher ground
Do you hear a trumpet sound?
Or is it just the river's roar?

Comments

@sml 6d

Real nice. I enjoyed the staccato guitar picking and the lyrics."..is it just the river's roar" the rising river might only be the beginning of something much, much bigger. Yikes.

@cadence 1w

Love the combination of voice and instrument in this. I spent 25yrs living in a flood plain, so this work really resonates with me! Thanks for your comments on my first solo Fawm song/skirmish Page 32 of This Book

@chipwithrow 1w

A finger-picked blues about a river? Count me in - this is great!
More that just blues - you have some sweet jazz and old-time chords in there. And your voice is so sweet. One of the best songs I've heard this FAWM.