Luke O’Hanlon – The River Only Flows One Way | Lyrics

The River Only Flows One Way

Moving fast down the deep, deep river

I held my breath and held your hand too tight

You were a child I was an Indian giver

And all the gifts that I gave I wrapped in candle light

You were young but the world was younger

I was old as my eyes and older than my teeth

We were cold and we were fighting hunger

One of us a liar and the other a thief

My heart was dark but the night was darker

When you asked what I was thinking I was thinking about you

There beneath the moon like a saint or martyr

Or an ugly sister squeezing in their sister’s shoe

This river flows like rolling thunder

This river flows both night and day

This river flows with a powerful hunger

Kid you know this river only flows one way

Out here beyond the towns and cities

There is nobody to tuck you in or say your prayers

Nobody will tell you if your hair looks pretty

And if your heart breaks like a dry branch then nobody cares

Inside the whale there is a pretty good book shelf

And a table and a chair and an electric light

Nobody knocking on the door and no mobile signal

Nobody asking you for change or asking for a light

I found my voice in a shell from the sea shore

I found my courage in the hollow of a tree

I found my heart in the jeans on the floor

Of your bedroom on that night I said I’d lost my key

This river flows like rolling thunder

This river flows both night and day

This river flows with a powerful hunger

Kid you know this river only flows one way

Writer(s): Luke O'Hanlon