Verse 1 Born to a father who only spoke in rain, A river-god with pockets full of drought and shame. He said, "The flood will come, just learn to wait," But waiting never looked much like fate. So I chased the thunder instead of peace, Wanted every whisper to become belief. Echo laughed, "You're destined, don't you bend." She made every boast sound true again. Pre-Chorus She'd say it twice until it sounded real, A thousand voices forged from a single zeal. The louder they echoed, the less I could hear— Love or applause... they sounded the same in my ear. Chorus The river remembers your name When the rain writes ink through the veins. Wanted posters drift with the news, Heroes and villains all bleed the same blues. I fell for a man in the water below— A face built from headlines the current would tow. Echo kept singing, "You're more than the rest..." Till I drowned in the story I loved the best. Verse 2 Every bridge wore my picture like a crown. Every tavern passed another rumor around. Front-page glory, back-page sin— Nobody cared which page I'd been in. Saint or outlaw, what's the score? Both get nailed to somebody's door. Echo smiled, "They're saying your name." I never asked if they meant praise or blame. Pre-Chorus Every reflection borrowed another lie, Every cheer climbed higher than the sky. She never questioned where the current led; She just repeated every word I'd said. Chorus The river remembers your name When the rain writes ink through the veins. Wanted posters drift with the news, Heroes and villains all bleed the same blues. I fell for a man in the water below— A face built from headlines the current would tow. Echo kept singing, "You're more than the rest..." Till I drowned in the story I loved the best. Bridge When the storm stopped talking, The river turned to stone. The ink bled into silence, And every headline floated home. Echo called across the empty banks— Only my own voice answered back. Not because she loved me... Because I'd taught her nothing else. Final Chorus The river remembered my name Long after nobody came. The posters peeled from weathered walls, The paper turned to ash in the squalls. The man in the water was never alive— Just every dream I struggled to survive. Echo still whispers wherever rain falls... And every lonely river repeats us all. Outro Some men drown in water. Some men drown in praise. The river knows the difference. It carries both away.
