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Floating Down the River Lyrics by David Rovics

Ten Thousand Miles Away

2010

[Spoken]
There’s an upright piano in the Church where it was played
I can still here the fire with the music that they made
These wild priests of Coltrane as high as you could get
Now their picture’s in the water with a broken clarinet
And the bodies floating down the river
There’s the very heart of harmony, a diminished minor chord
A demitasse of Café du Monde into which a poet poured
From a melior of coffee, freshly brewed and filled
I saw his notebook passing by and the coffee that he spilled
And the bodies floating down the river
There’s a cracked and sunken altar and Jesus on a cross
And hanging from a pole, the soiled work of Betsy Ross
The sidewalk muralist is shouting, people can you see
All the broken promises of Lady Liberty
And the bodies floating down the river
There’s the ghost of Lincoln lying in the mud
Mother Mary’s playing Zydeco and shedding tears of blood
The last vestige of democracy was just shot for looting bread
The levees were all busted, now they’re good as dead
Along with the bodies floating down the river
There’s a Hummer driving down the boulevard
There’s Halliburton contractors and the Army National Guard
Blackwater Security, ready to attack
There’s no food and there’s no doctors and it smells just like Iraq
And the bodies floating down the river
The prisons are all empty now, the dead men have been cleared
They drowned inside their cells when the guards all disappeared
But I saw somebody’s unform as it was passing by
Words on it spelled in blood, I guess now we’re gonna die
And the bodies floating down the river
Now many months have passed and it all just looks the same
So many dead and missing, no one knows their names
No one to clear the rubble, no one to rebuild
Some say the city died, I say it was killed
And the bodies floating down the river
Credits
David Rovics

David Rovics

About “Floating Down the River” by David Rovics

Read the complete lyrics to "Floating Down the River" by David Rovics from the album "Ten Thousand Miles Away" in 2010. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Pop.

"Floating Down the River" is performed by David Rovics. from the album "Ten Thousand Miles Away" in 2010 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Floating Down the River", explore more songs by David Rovics using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Floating Down the River" is credited to David Rovics. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Floating Down the River" appears on "Ten Thousand Miles Away" in 2010.

Visit the David Rovics artist page at /artist/david-rovics for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.