The River - The Beautiful South

Love takes time, we all agree

And time’s not the easiest to cheat

The water changes one degree

When will the shiver of this river turn to sea?

The river does no good, no harm

Tempts us like pirates to its calm

Lover’s shanty, devil’s psalm

Goddamn this river and its shiver and its charm

If you’ve got love’s A to Z

Don’t go dredging river bed

Use your fins and use your head

This river’s hooked the floating dead

Our lives go bounding down the strewn

When will we realise minnow dreams

The frustration eating you and me

Our only wish, to be the fish that meets the sea

We cannot tell a he or she

But us fish can tell a we

We know the seed, we know the tree

When will my conker conquer thee?

The cheaper woman and myself

We’ve both got ladders in our tights

When you’ve been left on the top shelf

You’ve got those ladders in your sights

You’ve got those ladders in your sights

You’ve got those ladders in your sights

You’ve got those ladders in your sights

You’ve got those ladders in your sights