Lyric discussion by rockeyisameancat 

Cover art for Harlem River Blues lyrics by Justin Townes Earle

I really like this song, the concept seems to be very original. The second verse gives away the meaning. Its obviously about suicide but, it seems as though things are going well for him (in the song), but he knows “good times come and they go”, and he is afraid of the hard times because in hard times “even a good man’ll break”, so he wants to end it while things are good and he is “still good in His grace”. A fools game for sure in real life, but a good concept for a great song.