Hey now, little speedy head
The read on the speed meter says
You have to go to task in the city
Where people drown and people serve
Don't be shy
Your just deserve
Is only just light years to go

Me, my thoughts are flower strewn
Ocean storm, bayberry moon
I have got to leave to find my way
Watch the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way

The ocean is the river's goal
A need to leave the water knows
We're closer now than light years to go

I have got to find the river
Bergamot and Vetiver
Run through my head and fall away
Leave the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way

There's no one left to take the lead
But I tell you and you can see
We're closer now than light years to go
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
Fall into the ocean

The river to the ocean goes
A fortune for the undertow
None of this is going my way
There is nothing left to throw
Of Ginger, lemon, indigo
Coriander stem and rose of hay
Strength and courage overrides
The privileged and weary eyes
Of river poet search naivete
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
All of this is coming your way


Lyrics submitted by shut, edited by JackD02025

Find The River Lyrics as written by Peter Buck Bill Berry

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Find The River song meanings
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  • +1
    My Interpretation

    This song is clearly about death. I figure it is about someone who had to leave their home and their parents to start their own life and before you know it that persons' parent(s) are dead.

    There's no one left to take the lead, but I tell you and you can see we're closer now than light years to go.

    This is obviously aimed at a sibling. The loss of family members, especially parents, pulls the members that are remaining together. 'No one left to take the lead' refers to the heads of the family passing away.

    Michael Stipe once said this:

    "Find the River to me has a lot of emotional baggage. It doesn't have that much to do with anything that would make sense to anyone else but me, particularly. I know the place I wrote it. I know the connections I had with it when I wrote it. I know connections that came afterwards, people that died. So yes, I can sing that song... but we've tried and tried to work it into some form which will translate live and for whatever reason we can't seem to play it. It's like a curse."

    It has to be written about people who are very close to him.

    MalcolmBon February 05, 2010   Link

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