Lyrics: Band of Brotherz
Music: Band of Brotherz
Played by members of the Band of Brotherz with Bob Weir and Ratdog at
the Beacon Theatre, New York on 4 April 2008. Some setlists have the title as
"The River Song."
Jay Lane in an interview
gave an account of the origins of the song:
Zach came to a RatDog show and was hanging out backstage with Bob Weir and Bob was saying, "I'd really like to get into this sampling and looping." So Zach made this loop of "Franklin's Tower" and he wrote this song to it, "The River Song."The lyrics as sung with Ratdog were:
Put me over there, put me over there
How do you know, I am what I am
Put me over there, then watch where I land
As I move with the rhythm they've give me
I'm living infinity
Result of the time in the Trinity
Taking me down and around, I follow the sound
I travel from city to city and town to town
So let's go
Repeat what I know, deep in my soul
Keep on a roll, peace and control
[Beats what the row], [heat's in the post]
And now feet's at the door, one more
How you doing, how you doing let's smoke
[Meets on the flow], so we'll never be broke
[Clever lee bro'], [better we smo']
Instead of [feebo] I'm a [little beedo]
[Heebo, heebo, I'm a slave to your knees
So what you want, give it to you with ease
Back to the river - mmm
Back to the river - yeah
Going back to the river - to wash my tread
Back to the river - to clear my head
Back to the river - mmm
Back to the river - yeah
Going back to the river - to wash my tread
Back to the river - to clear my head
How you know I won't fly off the handle?
Hit you with that thing from the mantle
For example, [all rib] shows, never hit hose
Learn to let it loose so the [toss] tip-toed
I keep it in control like a [glock, a lock]
'Cause everybody knows that a knock's a knock
I got [troops] in my corner, smell like damp
Because I come from California, should have warned ya
How do you know I won't give mine a kick
See me on the river, up north, all alone, no phone
Just a pen and a pack of fish, a poem
A full zig zag of an extraordinary bag
[Born of every dinner dash]
Which really is the point for the load of cash
That's all it adds
Back to the river - mmm
Back to the river - yeah
Going back to the river - to wash my tread
Back to the river - to clear my head
Back to the river - mmm
Back to the river - yeah
Going back to the river - to wash my tread
Back to the river - to clear my head
Last man standing
How did you know I was the first to put my hand in?
Crash landing, abandoned
But still got family all over the planet
We put [frogs] in a panic
[Knots] are telling me, you're feeling the flow
Appealing to [dough] so spend the time dealing in [pro]
Killing the foe, so making mincemeat out of enemies
Technically, I'm a friend of each and every possibility
[Trilogy], agility grows, ability knows, utility [bros]
We on the rope, dealing the flow
See me in the club with a pocket full of blood
Find me in the gutter, smelling like wee butter
But really, though, the city's a ball
So see me dissolved
The dead weight, the sad fate, can't wait
Back to the river - mmm
Back to the river - yeah
Going back to the river - to wash my tread
Back to the river - to clear my head
Back to the river - mmm
Back to the river - yeah
Going back to the river - to wash my tread
Back to the river - to clear my head
Back to the river - mmm
Back to the river - yeah
Going back to the river - to wash my tread
Back to the river - to clear my head
Back to the river - mmm
Back to the river - yeah
Going back to the river - to wash my tread
Back to the river - to clear my head