365 Days of Song Recommendations: Aug 19

In The River—The Call

I really think this is simply one of the greatest rock songs ever written.

Michael Been left this mortal coil on this day in 2010, and through his work with The Call, he left a powerful legacy. But with this song, he left something more than a legacy—he left a gift.

This song is everything every great rock song aspires to be. It tells a story. It haunts you. It makes you feel. And yet it also rocks. You feel it in your head, your heart, and your boots.

This is Gothic Americana before anyone had a name for it. This is like “Wiseblood” in song form—rock n’ roll by way of Flannery O’ Connor.

It’s biblical and spiritual, both. It’s a kind of white trash morality tale—an apocalyptic fairy tale written by poets, acted by illiterates, sung by mendicants.

It’s a call and response between consciousness and a conscience. It’s beautiful. It’s John Lee Hooker’s “Tupelo Blues” and Charley Patton’s “High Water Everywhere” meets Al Green’s “Take Me To The River” and Neil Young’s “Down by the River.”

It’s fucking great, is what it is, and deep bows to Michael Been, goddamit.

When I was quite young
I had learned to fear
I was taught to listen
But not to hear

From my mothers arms
I was cruelly torn
And they whipped my ass
On the day I was born

Little brother he died
At the age of five
Said, he lost his soul
He was not baptized

But the river flows
And the heavens cry
And we’ll all be drowned
In the river, in the river
In the river, in the river

I remember my sister
On her saddest day
When the boy she loved
Had been called away

Seems he gave his life
In a foreign land
Still my sister cries
She’ll never understand

Now the world is hard
And the cowards lie
And the fool loves war
And the gentle die

But the river flows
And the heavens cry
And we’ll all be drowned
In the river, in the river
In the river, in the river

Well, we built a dam
When the first rains fell
We built it high
And we built it well

But the waters rose
Like a beast from hell
Now my house is gone
And the town as well

So we gather here
For a silent prayer
For the lives we lost
And the love we shared

Still the river flows
And the heavens cry
And we’ll all be found
In the river, in the river
In the river, in the river

“In The River” is the 231st song on the #365Songs playlist: