Didn’t The River Know

© 2020, Alex O’Brien
Lyrics by Alex O’Brien; All Rights Reserved

Arrangement by Piergiorgio Lucidi

Verse 1

Eb
One New Year’s Eve he walked out

Gb13
In his Tux he looked so fine

Bmaj7 Abm7
We thought he was off to a party

Bb2 F
We thought he was having a good time

Eb
But he didn’t come home that evening

Ebm/Gb
And he didn’t come home that night

Fm7
They didn’t find him till the springtime

Dm7b5 G7b9
His body washed up, cold, wet, and white

Chorus 1

Cm9 B2
Didn’t the river know?

Eb/Bb F9
Didn’t the river understand?

Ab Abm
That troubles don’t last forever

Eb7 G7#5
That mountains wear down to sand

Cm9 B2
Why couldn’t the river refuse him?

Eb/Bb F9
Why couldn’t the river keep him safe?

Fm7 Abm9/D
The beach should be a place to swim

Eb
Not a holding place for graves

Verse 2
A sensitive man, he was a painter So many canvases left undone
The man he was a brother
And a pool hall wayward son
The man he was my uncle
He loved to go for walks
He showed me the world of fossils And we fished off the cottage dock

Chorus 2

Didn’t the river know?
Didn’t the river understand?
That pain doesn’t last forever
That one can always change plans
Why couldn’t the river reject him? Why couldn’t the river flow him home? The water is there to give us life
Not to drown a mind that feels alone

Fighting divorce, my father felt guilty He thought he should have been there I was a teenager and selfish
Having too much fun to show I cared His therapist felt discouraged

The talks and pills oh how they failed The pool hall debts they were relieved And the angels they did wail

Chorus 3

Didn’t the river know?
Didn’t the river understand?
That love comes to the lonely
That every hand can find a hand Why couldn’t the river sustain him? Why couldn’t the river hold fast? Why couldn’t the river restrain him? Till all his fears and worries did pass

Chorus 4

Didn’t the river know? Didn’t the river know? Didn’t the river know?...