Away Down the River

In my opinion, it interprets the book of Exodus, as Moses. Since the opposition was ordered to kill every young boy, the mother knew she couldn’t hide her baby anymore, so she hid her baby away in a basket, and floated it down the Nile in hopes that someone would find Moses and adopt him. I know the lyrics say the Jordan river, but it all seems too familiar. Just my interpretation, though. :)

Sung from the perspective of an aged parent(my perspective, but could be any age parent), close to death, saying goodbye to her child/children. This is a person of faith it seems as they seem to believe in an afterlife, indicating they wont be alone, they will be "waiting with all who have gone before". This believe in afterlife seems to be Christian, as use of "Jordan" seems to indicate.

This beautiful song is sung from the point of view of one who's just recently died and speaking to one left behind. The one speaking could be a parent, a lover, a child, or even a pet - the song is left open that way, so it can be comforting to any who've lost a loved one. It also reminds me of that poem "Crossing the Bar."

Krauss has an excellent ear for great songs, and this one was written by Julie Lee.