Name: River Jordan
Duration: P00H03M30S
Description: River Jordan runs dirty these days, but along with the camel-skin-clad end-of the-world baptist of yore, still has much to say about sacred waters and the settling of old scores. The Jordan tells us how the river stays while the water flows, and John the Baptist, how “his flock spills a source we all hold dear, but I ain't never seen blood make a river run clear...”

River Jordan

from Springtime in a Foreign City by sonofmel

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$1 USD or more
Buy the Full Digital Album

about

River Jordan runs dirty these days, but along with the camel-skin-clad end-of the-world baptist of yore, still has much to say about sacred waters and the settling of old scores. The Jordan tells us how the river stays while the water flows, and John the Baptist, how “his flock spills a source we all hold dear, but I ain't never seen blood make a river run clear...”

lyrics

River Jordan

Gonna take you down the Jordan where the current runs leans
The river runs dirty some things are never clean
There's a man in camelskin on the bank outside of town
He baptizes some while others sink drowned
God blesses some more than others I hear
But I ain't never seem him in his long gray beard.

Some call it murder others call it suicide
Some think it righteous when it flows a crimson tide
God blesses soldiers every day they stay alive
Some think it holy if in his name they die
And boys let me tell you that when cousins start to fight
An eye for an eye gets sanctified

Brother John's still out there on that bank outside of town
Can't you hear him screaming, “The warrior wears the crown”?
He cries out across the ages in the same hoarse voice
A lone standing sentinel with a solitary choice
His flock spills a source that we all hold dear
But I ain't never seen blood make a river run clear.

credits

from Springtime in a Foreign City, released April 29, 2017
Written by Sonofmel: guitar, vocal
Percussion: Peter Anderson

license

about

sonofmel Hayward, Wisconsin

Sometimes it takes traveling far from home to find out where one comes from... after combing the world for signs of the sacred among paths of the profane, Sonofmel returns with fistfuls of chords wrapped up in verse that declare though trouble never starves, somewhere high above the maladies of modern man, the sky is still as blue as when Adam first kissed Eve... ... more

Facebook

contact / help

Contact sonofmel

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like sonofmel, you may also like:

Halcyon Days
by Kevin Farge

A vibrant vision of "Central Americana" from the Costa Rica-based artist, blending heartland devotionals with playful Tropicália grooves. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 27, 2022
go to album
Meet Me at the River
by Dawn Landes

On “Meet Me By the River,” Dawn Landes’s self-described “Nashville record,” buoyant country melodies settle deep into lush instrumentation. Bandcamp New & Notable May 7, 2018
go to album
Dakota Blue Moon
by Jackson Harden

Gorgeous acoustic Americana from North Carolina, stripped-back and sublime. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 5, 2023
go to album
Caught Up On A Feeling
by Veronica Stanton

Stunningly beautiful orchestral folk songs with just a hint of country, delivered with heart-on-sleeve immediacy. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 19, 2022
go to album
Papa Bear Sings Baby Bear a Lullaby in a Bearhouse
by Hige Kuma

Raucous jams from this Austin artist with hooks so immediate, they bury themselves in your brain. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 28, 2021
go to album
Forever Only Idaho
by Harrison Lemke

Big, strummy songs that recall the heart-on-sleeve earnestness and lo-fi glory of early Mountain Goats. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 20, 2021
go to album
The Living Room Sessions
by John Prine

Funds from the sales of this single by John Prine, Margo Price, & Jason Isbell will benefit the ACLU. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 3, 2019
go to album