Lyrics

Grand River Gwen Swick
I need a town without a Grand River flowing through
Without a Grand Hotel or a Grand Avenue

This false-named river has witnessed my life
I too have watched its moody flow
Breathed lungs full steamy breath
Whispered secrets safe for only the river to know
On the banks of the river I kissed and conceived
My love, the river, were one, I believed them
Fast endless, committed to me
Not a promise to mock, some day turn on me

The river was already old
When I introduced my younger child
To my family and friends I defended each their virtues
And the workings that ran them both too wild
I taught him to think like a fish
I taught him to love this river
I told him water gives life
Water is a gentle rain soaking to the earth
Not a stabbing killer with a sharp, jagged knife

I never can walk the banks of the Grand River again

Though I tried to protect him and I could not
I am beyond the stage of blame
But the details still run clear
As that first moment of pain
For that woman who crossed her arms over her heart
That woman who sank to the ground
That woman who begged for the water to speed her
To the spot where he was found

He is my son
There is no pretending otherwise
No pretending that he didn?t exist
When I can touch the remains of that other life
I carry with me indelibly
The looks of a boy who will never age past the year of nine
He has his father?s wide smile
But his eyes, they are mine

I never can walk the banks of the Grand River again