here's an explanation from Ben
"Let The River In is kind of a coming of age story. First, as a little kid, it's about growing up, and getting over fears (monsters beneath the bed, etc) and losing imaginary friends (Don't scare me off now; I'm your only friend ... this section is from the imaginary friend's viewpoint -- I take a lot of liberties with that stuff). Later it's about moving beyond the problems you're born into, particularly with family and in the end deciding to text whether blood really means anything. You can probably discern the rest from the lyrics."
here's an explanation from Ben "Let The River In is kind of a coming of age story. First, as a little kid, it's about growing up, and getting over fears (monsters beneath the bed, etc) and losing imaginary friends (Don't scare me off now; I'm your only friend ... this section is from the imaginary friend's viewpoint -- I take a lot of liberties with that stuff). Later it's about moving beyond the problems you're born into, particularly with family and in the end deciding to text whether blood really means anything. You can probably discern the rest from the lyrics."