Out across cities I see buildings burn into piles
And watch the world in wonder as mountains turn into tiles
And trees losing their leaves and faces becoming tired
I wish I could discover something that doesn't expire
Come and stumble me

Take me river carry me far
Lead me river like a mother
Take me over to some other unknown
Pull me in the undertow

Such are the things that make a kingdom rumble and shatter
The same dynamic that another day would never matter
It really just depends on who's giving and who's receiving
And things that don't make sense are always a little deceiving.
Come and humble me

Take me river carry me far
Lead me river like a mother
Take me over to some other unknown
Pull me in the undertow

I wanna go where you're going
A follower following
Changing but never changed
Claiming but never claimed

Take me river carry me far
Lead me river like a mother
Take me over to some other unknown
Pull me in the undertow

Take me river carry me far
Lead me river like a mother
Take me over to some other unknown
Pull me in the undertow

Take me river carry me far
Lead me river like a mother
Take me over to some other unknown
Pull me in the undertow


Lyrics submitted by LovelyMauve

River Lyrics as written by Valerie Poxleitner Thomas Salter

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

River song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    sorry but i saw this somewhere and it made me laugh :)

    take me, twitter, carry me far a follower, following

    lol

    lovemusicdorkon May 02, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    Your lyrics are pretty spot on, just a few little corrections. I got these from the album booklet: "Out across cities I see buildings burn into piles" "And trees losing their leaves and our faces becoming tired" "Put me in the undertow" "I want where you're going"

    As for the meaning of the song, I see it as being tired of life and wanting to get away, or something to that effect. I love the chorus, it's catchy.

    sorrytryagainon September 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    beautiful! ...music is very energetic, meaningful, and her voice works really well in it all. the lyrics deal with wanting to find somewhere you belong, I believe, in a world where aesthetic everything seems to fit in anywhere. or to just believe in something firmly and completely...you know?

    AlecsPenon October 16, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i think that this song is talking more about the environment and how we're destroying it "And watch the world in wonder as mountains turn into tiles" but i do get the wanting to be taken somewhere else meaning too "Take me river, carry me far"

    lovemusicdorkon February 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Lights has seen all the the problems in the world, and wants to be away from them. And this 'river' is her chance out. The river seems so powerful, protective, yet uncontrollable, and still like a mother-figure. But Lights has that feeling where she questions if following the 'river' is really what she wants.

    SourBlueon June 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning

    I believe that this song is a mix of what "lovemusicdork" and "sorrytryagain" were saying. To me, it seems like it's saying she wants to get away from problems, but it's also saying that we are destroying nature, and she's asking the river to take her away from all the destruction.

    "Such are the things that make a kingdom rumble and shatter The same dynamic that another day would never matter It really just depends on who's giving and who's receiving And things that don't make sense are always a little deceiving Come and humble me"

    This leads me to believe she's saying that nature makes a kingdom fall, literally, not government/economically. Ivy grows up on the walls, and tears it down. We're constantly taking from nature, but we're also receiving more than we think about. We get our oxygen from plants, and wood from trees, food from plants. But we are also constantly hacking away at nature, trying to take what we believe to be ours. You've mowed your lawn? You've attacked nature.

    Nature wouldn't miss us if we disappeared, it would scarcely realize we were gone. But if plants vanished, we wouldn't be able to survive.

    MusicWormon August 03, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    One great aspect of the song is where she chooses to breathe - after the second word in every verse and continuing after that. Her breaths are short and deliberate which adds to the meaning - feel that she needs to get away. The river - swift, strong, and rapid - is like her breaths and nicely contrast with the slow tempo of the song.

    cheloniaon April 01, 2013   Link

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