Matt Shadows their lead singer says the song was written as per request from the developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Watching the initial trailers for the game & looking at production sketches reminded him of the 'S-Town' podcast & its main protagonist, John B. McLemore. Matt also comments specifically on the lyrics: "I decided that the lyrics would shadow McLemore's life." In 2012, antiquarian horologist John B. McLemore sent an email to the staff of the show 'This American Life' asking them to investigate an alleged murder in his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama, a place McLemore claimed to despise. After a year of exchanging emails & several months of conversation with McLemore, producer Brian Reed traveled to Woodstock to investigate. Reed investigated the crime & eventually found that no such murder took place, though he struck up a friendship with the depressed but colorful character of McLemore. He recorded conversations with McLemore & other people in Woodstock. McLemore killed himself by drinking potassium cyanide on June 22, 2015 while the podcast was still in production. In the narrative of the podcast, this occurs at the end of the second episode; subsequent episodes deal with the fallout from McLemore's death while exploring more of McLemore's life & character.
I gotta get down on the river again
She's a true life giver, she's my only friend
When I'm hidin' out, I need a way to ride on out
From all that gunfire up on the land
Too much for one man to make a stand
I gotta get down on the river again, I'm a running man
Runnin' through the night, runnin' for my life
Seems it's worth a lot, to a man who's not forgot who I am
I gotta get down on the river again, I'm a running man
I been cheated by a dealer, black hearted man of a soul stealer
Kept me down in the game, until a voice called my name
I was holding my own on the losing end
Here comes the lady, she's a winning hand
I gotta get down on the river again, I'm a running man
Ride that dark lady down, roll on easy to another town
She's got wild and wistful ways, I'll take her any night or day
I gotta get down on the river again, I'm a running man
She's a true life giver, she's my only friend
When I'm hidin' out, I need a way to ride on out
From all that gunfire up on the land
Too much for one man to make a stand
I gotta get down on the river again, I'm a running man
Runnin' through the night, runnin' for my life
Seems it's worth a lot, to a man who's not forgot who I am
I gotta get down on the river again, I'm a running man
I been cheated by a dealer, black hearted man of a soul stealer
Kept me down in the game, until a voice called my name
I was holding my own on the losing end
Here comes the lady, she's a winning hand
I gotta get down on the river again, I'm a running man
Ride that dark lady down, roll on easy to another town
She's got wild and wistful ways, I'll take her any night or day
I gotta get down on the river again, I'm a running man
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