River of Need
from Ghost Hymns by William Lee Ellis
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about
Some songs take years to write, others arrive fully formed in minutes. This song is among the latter, written by the fireplace while the dogs were temporarily quiet. Played in C#-minor, the three guitars I used all had different tunings, including open G for the 12-string slide and open D for the National steel on which I overlaid two melodies courtesy of an EBow. Doubt I’ll ever duplicate that day again!
lyrics
This river of need grows wider everyday
Cast your net, still it all slips away
Sink or swim, do or die they say
It’s a hunger no one can ever feed, this river of need
This river of need sucks you dry to the bone
Feels like hell when everything is gone
Call for your mother, no one waits at home
Drop by drop you plead from your river of need
This river of need overflows
It takes everything, more than you owe
Bit by bit and blow by blow
It doesn’t care if you concede, this river of need
This river of need only flows one way
Try to push it back, it just pulls you away
Until you look at the years and survey
All the times you couldn’t stop the bleed, your river of need
Cast your net, still it all slips away
Sink or swim, do or die they say
It’s a hunger no one can ever feed, this river of need
This river of need sucks you dry to the bone
Feels like hell when everything is gone
Call for your mother, no one waits at home
Drop by drop you plead from your river of need
This river of need overflows
It takes everything, more than you owe
Bit by bit and blow by blow
It doesn’t care if you concede, this river of need
This river of need only flows one way
Try to push it back, it just pulls you away
Until you look at the years and survey
All the times you couldn’t stop the bleed, your river of need
credits
from Ghost Hymns,
released June 23, 2023
WLE, vocal, six and 12-string guitars, EBows, aslatua
WLE, vocal, six and 12-string guitars, EBows, aslatua
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
William Lee Ellis Memphis
"There's no one else playing exactly the same sort of music as William Lee Ellis," said legendary producer Jim Dickinson of the Americana/blues master acoustic guitarist. "It's as if he's invented his own sort of 'holy blues' genre."
discography
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Jun 2023 -
Jul 2006 -
Aug 2003 -
Aug 2003
contact / help
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Live Before Lockdown, Bootleg 2019
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