The River

Verse 1 They tried to write my ending before the story was through Called me the villain, but the truth kept breaking through Lost the house, the money, everything I thought I knew But the river never judged me — just kept on running through Pre-Chorus Some nights all I had was a line and the water and the dark But the quiet on that riverbank was rebuilding something in my heart Chorus Cast it out, let it go Watch it fly through the morning glow The river's been my church, my peace, my proof I survived the storm, I made it through For every lie they told, the truth came back I found myself by following the current back I'm not the man they tried to break — I'm the man the river chose to make Verse 2 I'd watch my kids through a courthouse window, fighting for their name The noise inside my head like thunder, everything in flames Ate what I could pull from the water, slept with the sound of the stream The man I used to be felt like somebody else's dream Pre-Chorus But something in the current kept whispering hold on Even broken things can find their way back where they belong Chorus Cast it out, let it go Watch it fly through the morning glow The river's been my church, my peace, my proof I survived the storm, I made it through For every lie they told, the truth came back I found myself by following the current back I'm not the man they tried to break — I'm the man the river chose to make Verse 3 Knee-deep in that cold water something finally clears A thousand scattered thoughts fall silent — purpose starts to appear The noise that used to chase me turns to something I can use When the line pulls tight beneath the surface, I've got nothing left to lose Pre-Chorus The storm inside me settled when I stopped trying to outrun Every answer I was chasing was downstream all along Chorus Cast it out, let it go Watch it fly through the morning glow The river's been my church, my peace, my proof I survived the storm, I made it through For every lie they told, the truth came back I found myself by following the current back I'm not the man they tried to break — I'm the man the river chose to make Verse 4 Now I wake up with intention, my kids are by my side The courts gave back my name and I reclaimed my pride What the river taught me living in the wreckage and the rain Was that still water runs the deepest and it never runs in vain Pre-Chorus I'm not surviving anymore — I'm building something new Every cast a little further, every morning breaking through Bridge [violin swell, sparse, then builds] I used to run from the quiet Now the quiet is where I live I used to fear the future Now it's everything I give My kids will know their father Not the ghost they tried to make I'm standing in the current And I'm never turning back Final Chorus [full band, anthemic lift, violin soaring] Cast it out, let it go Watch it fly through the morning glow The river's been my church, my peace, my proof I survived the storm, I made it through For every lie they told, the truth came back I found myself by following the current back I'm not the man they tried to break — I'm the man the river chose to make