Bruce Cockburn False River
On the coastline
Where the trees shine
In the unexpected rain
There's the carcass of a tanker
In the centre of a stain
And the waves of dead sea things
Slide slick on to the stones
And the flux thicker than water
From the planet's pierced bones
In a jeweler's armoured window
You can just cast your eyes on
A diamond-crusted pendant
In the shape of Bart Simpson
Through mirrored cops in armour
And the drift of gas clouds
Drones the size of horseflies
Scrutinizing the crowds
And the horsemen on a high ridge
They wheel and they ride
Their work all done for them
By the turgid black tide
False river, dark flow
How far do we have to go?
Torrent tumbles to the sea
This ain't the way it's supposed to be
False river
Life blood of the land
Consort of our earth
Pulse to the pull of moonrise
Can you tally what it's worth?
We can spend it till we end it
While the heat climbs up the graph
Till we're panting like a salmon
With its gill hooked on a gaff
And the dark blood keeps flowing
Like a hemorrhage from the womb
That birthed us, gave us substance
On our own heads be our doom
False river, dark flow
How far do we have to go?
Torrent tumbles to the sea
This ain't the way it's supposed to be
False river
False river, dark flow
How far do we have to go?
Torrent tumbles to the sea
This ain't the way it's supposed to be
False river
False river
