The River
Higgins Missy Lyrics

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She ran until her face was numb with cold and
Wore a cotton gown that blazed the night untold.
She ran until her feet refused to hold
So heavy a heart for someone merely ten years old.
And when she reached the river her knees began to shiver,
Her head with pounding voices from home.
Behind her was a vision, a painful apparition
Of a darker world that no-one should know.

Somebody's bed will never be warm again,
The river will keep this friend.
Yeah somebody's bed will never be warm again,
No never again.

She dived beneath the water's icy skin,
Hoping the cold would kill the smell of angry gin,
And her eyes grew wider than they'd ever been
Just wishing the numbness to cut deeper with its pins.
And as her body lay there she decided to stay there
Till darkness came to pull her away.
And beautifully she sank as up river was the bank
Where some bodiless troubles would stay.

Somebody's bed will never be warm again,
The river will keep this friend.
Yeah somebody's bed will never be warm again,
No never again.

Somebody's bed will never be warm again,
The river will keep this friend.

Yeah somebody's bed will never be warm again,
No never again.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Missy Higgins' song "The River" are haunting and emotional, telling the story of a young girl who runs away from home and eventually drowns in a river. The girl is so overwhelmed with a heavy heart, likely due to some trauma or abuse at home, that she runs until she can run no longer. The imagery of her cotton gown "blaz[ing] the night untold" paints the picture of a girl bursting with energy and emotion, but also one who is vulnerable and exposed.

As the girl reaches the river, she realizes that there is no going back - the darkness of her life at home is too painful to face. She dives under the water's icy surface in an effort to numb herself completely and escape the smell of alcohol and anger that surrounds her. The repetition of the line "somebody's bed will never be warm again" adds to the poignancy of the song, emphasizing the finality of the young girl's death and the tragic loss that her family and loved ones will have to bear.

The song is a powerful commentary on the devastating effects of trauma and abuse on young people, and the lengths to which some feel they must go to escape their pain. It is a tribute to those who have lost their lives in pursuit of freedom and peace.

Line by Line Meaning

She ran until her face was numb with cold and
She sprinted so long that her face was frozen with cold and

Wore a cotton gown that blazed the night untold.
She put on a dress made of cotton that shone like fire in the dark.

She ran until her feet refused to hold
She ran until her feet could no longer bear her weight.

So heavy a heart for someone merely ten years old.
Her heart was burdened with grief and pain despite her young age of ten.

And when she reached the river her knees began to shiver,
As soon as she got to the river her knees started trembling in fear and uncertainty.

Her head with pounding voices from home.
Her mind was filled with the loud and persistent voices of her troubled home life.

Behind her was a vision, a painful apparition
She could see a painful and haunting image of her past behind her.

Of a darker world that no-one should know.
It was a world filled with darkness and secrets that no one should experience.

Somebody's bed will never be warm again,
The bed of the person she left behind will never be warm again.

The river will keep this friend.
The river will be her only companion.

Yeah somebody's bed will never be warm again,
Yes, the bed of the one she left behind will never be warm again.

No never again.
They will never feel the warmth of their loved one in their bed again.

She dived beneath the water's icy skin,
She plunged herself into the icy waters of the river.

Hoping the cold would kill the smell of angry gin,
She hoped that the cold water would wash away the stench of alcohol and anger from her body.

And her eyes grew wider than they'd ever been
Her eyes widened to their fullest extent.

Just wishing the numbness to cut deeper with its pins.
She wished for the numbness to go deeper and dull the pain.

And as her body lay there she decided to stay there
As her lifeless body lay in the water, she made the decision to stay there forever.

Till darkness came to pull her away.
She would remain there until the darkness of death came to take her.

And beautifully she sank as up river was the bank
Her final descent into the water was graceful and serene, and she drifted towards the riverbank upstream.

Where some bodiless troubles would stay.
She left behind her earthly troubles and worries as she drifted away.

Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: CLIF MAGNESS, MISSY HIGGINS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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