The River Driver
Great Big Sea Lyrics

I was just the age of sixteen
At the tender age of sixteen, I started working as a river driver.

When I first went on the drive
That was when I first started working on the river.

After six months hard labor
I worked for six months with my blood, sweat, and tears.

At home I did arrive
When I was done with my hard work, I came back home.

I courted with a pretty girl
I fell in love with a beautiful woman.

T'was her caused me to roam
It was her that made me leave home and work as a river driver.

Now I'm just a river driver
Currently, I am just a river driver.

And I'm far away from home
I am far from the comfort and warmth of my home.

[Chorus]
The chorus signals the start of the refrain which repeats several times throughout the song.

I'll eat when I am hungry
I will eat food only when I feel the pangs of hunger.

And I'll drink when I am dry
I will drink water when I am thirsty.

Get drunk whenever I'm ready
I choose to get intoxicated whenever the mood strikes.

Get sober by and by
I will keep partying until I decide to sober up.

And if this river don't drown me
I hope not to lose my life to one of the many dangerous waters down which I journey.

It's down I'll mean to roam
If the river does not end my life, then I shall keep traveling along it.

I'll build a lonesome castle
I will build an isolated home or castle far away from society.

Upon some mountain high
I shall build my abode at the top of the highest mountain I can find.

Where she can sit and view me
This will be a place where my love can watch me pass by.

As I go passing by
This is where my love can watch me as I journey down the river.

When I am old and feeble
At the end of my life, when my body becomes weak and infirm.

And in my sickness lie
When I am suffering from some illness.

Just wrap me up in a blanket
I want to be wrapped up in a simple sheet instead of an expensive casket.

And lay me down to die
I want to be allowed to pass away peacefully in my sleep.

Just get a little bluebird
I want a little bluebird, a symbol of happiness, to sing for me.

To sing for me alone
I want the bluebird to sing for me and me only.

For I'm a river driver
I am first and foremost a river driver.

And I'm far away from home
For now, I am away from my loved ones and familiar surroundings.

[Chorus: x2]
The chorus repeats twice more, signifying the end of the song.

For I'm a river driver
A final reminder that I am a river driver above all else.

And I'm far away from home
Just as at the beginning, I am far away from home and the life I once knew.