Have you seen the river man?

The river man will know.

Betty came by on her way
Said she had a word to say
About things today
And fallen leaves.

We walked along the riverside and talked about what was happening in our lives. I asked Betty why she was so sad.

“My leaves are falling”, she answered.

“Mine are falling too.”

Said she hadn’t heard the news
Hadn’t had the time to choose
A way to lose
But she believes.

Betty knew nothing about my troubles. Hers were bad enough.

“What will you do?” I asked her.

She told me she hadn’t really decided yet. She thought it might be OK. Maybe it would be OK for me too.

“We can’t last forever though. None of us can. But maybe we can just enjoy what we have.”

“Let’s ask the River Man!” I called out as I ran to the waterside. “He’ll know.”

Gonna see the river man
Gonna tell him all I can
About the plan
For lilac time

The river man knew everything that was coming. He always does. He knows where the river will take us. I told him about the falling leaves that made us so sad and I told him about the hillside where the lilacs grow in spring. Betty said how much she loved those lilacs too.

“What should we do?” we asked him.

If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows
And all night shows
In summertime

“I can’t tell you everything that’s coming your way,” said the river man. “But I know you’ll see the summer. I know the river will take you there.”

“We’ll go out to the countryside when the summer comes.” Betty said with a smile. “I’d like to see the stars one more time.”

Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away
Or maybe stay
She wasn’t sure

Betty’s smile was gone the next morning. The hurt inside was too much. She asked the river man for help but there was no reply.

“Sometimes I wish it was all over”, she said with tears in her eyes. “But sometimes I wish the clouds would blow away and we could enjoy the river’s flow some more.”

“Let’s see what the summer brings. The river man said we’ll see the summer. Let’s pray for sunshine.”

For when she thought of summer rain
Calling for her mind again
She lost the pain
And stayed for more

The summer, when it came, brought light showers and we walked along the river bank. The rain washed away Betty’s sadness. It washed mine away too.

“Can we walk a little more, Betty?”

“Why don’t we see what the river man says?” she answered.

Gonna see the river man
Gonna tell him all I can
About the ban
On feeling free

We told the river man about the tears the rain had washed away but our tears came back to us as summer drifted away.

“Will we see another summer?”, we asked.

“Just follow the river.” he said. “The river will take you to where you need to go.”

If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows
I don’t suppose
It’s meant for me

“Where will it take us?” I asked. “It’s so hard to know what’s coming.”

The river man was silent and we knew our river was coming to an end.

Oh, how they come and go!
Oh, how they come and go.