River Take Me It's been rainy and windy for seven days straight I've been going to bed early and getting up late I look out my window and it's one shade of gray My wife and my kids don't have much to say A man out of work only gets in the way Oh the river is rising now one inch an hour And tonight we'll be lucky if we still have power But I've got a flashlight, an oil lamp and I'm ready to go And a fresh set of batteries for my son's radio If the dam really breaks, least we'll know where to go River take me, river take me River take me far from troubled times River take me, river take me River take me far from troubled times If I had a boat you know what I'd do? I'd float me and my family down to Baton Rouge I wouldn't work in no factory I'd live off the land And live within means of my own two hands Dance Saturday nights to a Zydeco band Oh the river flows and a young man dreams And the river can drown you Or it can wash you clean It can take you away to some other place It can power your cities, carry your waste And give all that you drink a peculiar taste Oh, don't look to me, I've done my time You see I've had too many dreams for this one heart of mine And I've stood on the bridge with the river below Feeling all of the sadness that a proud man could hold Oh the river is full but there's no way to go