4 [bad word] awful early, and I was dead on my feet
But if you gonna catch the biggest fish
You gotta lose a little sleep
Well, I pack my gear and a couple beers
I headed for my favorite spot
Well, I curse my luck when I saw his [bad word] right where I pulled off
Was hoping to have the river to myself that day

'Cause the river don't talk, the river don't care
Where you've been, what you've done
Why it is your standin' there
It just rolls on by whisperin' to your soul
It's gonna be alright, the river just knows

The way the sun bounced off the water
I could hardly make him out
But I could see he had a fish on
big ole rainbow trout
The fight went on forever
And as they headed down my way, I saw his
military hair cut and the new scars on his face
Right then I knew what brought him to this place

You know the river don't talk, the river don't care
Where you've been, what you've done
Don't know why it is your standin' there
It just rolls on by whisperin' to your soul
It's gonna be alright, the river just knows

He held that fish down in the water
And he coaxed it to back to life
He said "Help, you get your wind back
'Cause you help me get mine"
And all I could think to say was [bad word] home"
But I think that river said it best on its own

You know the river don't talk, the river don't care
Where you've been, what you've done
Don't know why it is your standin' there
It just rolls on by whisperin' to your soul
It's gonna be alright, the river just knows
It's gonna be alright, the river just knows
It just knows...