Colorado passes by like writing on a wall
Headed Eastward down to New Orleans
Dipping into Texas as the stars are fading out
But there’s still a lot of country in-between
When I left California, I was 29 years old
And the world just spun me ‘round
Now I just watch Louisiana
Scroll across the windowpane
And I face in the direction I am bound
 
Cover up the sun
Let the river run
Make the waters come and wash me away

(Verse)
Me, Clifton, and the King of Cats
Sat down in the road
Pedro said, "Boys, we're three of kind"
He said “I’ve sat with river rats
And I’ve hung my hat with diplomats
I had 4 brothers once upon a time”

He said they toured the country far away from the Rio Grande
But the road just wore them down
So they bought a house beside a lake outside of New Orleans
And they stared in the direction of the escalating sound
 
Cover up the sun
Let the river run
Take this good man’s son and wash him away
Sister Indecipherable is talking to a wall
Back in New York City, she’s a queen
Resurrect or genuflect
She saves the ones she can’t protect
And keeps the chapel pris- (if not Sis-) tine
She drinks Absinthe mixed with Kerosene to keep herself upright
But the world still brings her down
If you can't keep your shit together when God is on your side
What chance do you have when he's not around?

Make that water run
Let the river come to wash me away
 
People of the Mardi Gras in their Tuesday best
Waiting for the South to rise again
Children of Geronimo grieving for the West
Feather dressed and marching their refrain

And in the dark of Armstrong Park
The marching bands ascend
But they never make a sound
Just a quiet prayer for Congo Square
A silent conversation there
With the night to rest our eyes in
We just look to the horizon for the change
Cover up the sun
Let the river run
Pray the waters come to wash me away
 
Color in the sky
Make the diesel fly
Lay me down to die and take me away