Lyric discussion by Rodan2000 

Cover art for The River Of Dreams lyrics by Billy Joel

the story you're thinking of goes along with Great Wall of China, from the same CD, but this song i'm pretty sure is simply aboyut the River of Dreams, which is life as a whole. "we all end in the ocean, we all start in the stream, we're all carried along by the river of dreams" what he's searching for, i think is just meaning to life, but the River, being life is to wide for him to cross and really find an answer. or maybe, it soges along with the song Everybody has a Dream, meaning the River of Dreams is the whole group of the dreams and amitions of everyone in the world, and he's lost his with the rest. either way, two things are pretty much for sure. one, he wrote all the songs on this CD during his devorce, so they reflect his sadness during the time. And then there's the fact that he wanted to bring a more "spiritual" persona to the song, and not religiously, but just in a way that encompasses all life and dreams and everything. Mountains of faith, Dasert of truth, valley of fear, and jungle of doubt are definately part of this overview of the song.