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lyrics

One the river was the place to be
People gathered along the strand
There was shad, oysters, and caviar
Served on steamboats fit to beat the band
Dock Street, Water Street, and River Road
The names still linger in city and town
But we turned out backside on the river
Time to turn the situation around

You can sing it from the bridge
You can sing it from the shore
You can sing it from the sloop Clearwater
Ah, but sing it from your heart
You'll never know until you try
You can sing it all alone
You can sing it with a friend
If you take it from the top and you make it till the end
You just might help somebody see
the bottom of the river again
Oh yeah, the bottom of the river again

There's a rag to wipe your Sunday shoes
Rag to use when you got the blues
Rag for powdering babies southern sides
There's a rag for the kitchen and one for the hall
A ragtime tune on an old guitar
A rag to wipe those teardrops from your eyes
Now listen to the river she's telling you
She needs some of that rag time too
She's waiting patiently
For all the rest of us to agree

She's got acid rain sweeping down like tears
PCB's behind her ears
Power plants in places she can't reach

I am going to sing this old time river song
To every mud sucker ever done her wrong
Till we clean that winding stream from beach to beach

You can sing it from the bridge
You can sing it from the shore
You can sing it from the sloop Clearwater
Ah, but sing it from your heart
You'll never know until you try
You can sing it all alone
You can sing it with a friend
If you take it from the top and you make it till the end
You just might help somebody see
the bottom of the river again.
Oh yeah, the bottom of the river again

You can sing it from the bridge
You can sing it from the shore
You can sing it from the sloop Clearwater
Ah, but sing it from your heart
You'll never know until you try
You can sing it all alone
You can sing it with a friend
If you take it from the top and you make it till the end
You just might help somebody see
the bottom of the river again.
Oh yeah, the bottom of the river again
Oh yeah, the bottom of the river again
Oh yeah, the bottom of the river again
Oh yeah, the muddy bottom of the Hudson river again
Oh yeah.

credits

from Where the Heron Waits, released January 1, 2009

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Betty and the Baby Boomers image

Betty and the Baby Boomers New Paltz, New York

An acoustic folk quintet from New York's Hudson Valley. Folk song magazine Sing Out! described the group as “a refreshing reminder of the halcyon days of American folk music” and the CD [Tumbling Through the Stream of Days] as “an enthusiastic testament to the sheer joy of singing and playing music.” ... more

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