Rivers and Roads
The Head and the Heart Lyrics

The Head and the Heart's song Rivers and Roads is a reflective piece about the inevitability of change and the pain of separation. The first two lines lay down the central theme, with the recognition that everyone's lives are in motion, and that we are all separated eventually. The lines "And they're going to better places/But our friends will be gone away" bring to light the fact that we can't always go where our friends go; sometimes we lose people to the winds of fate.

The singer then reminisces about a person they miss "like hell," acknowledging that life is in constant flux, even though sometimes it hurts. In the third verse, the singer highlights the bittersweet nature of change, recognizing the difficulty in reconciling that people and situations always shift around us. Lines like, "And if you don't know what to make of this/Then we will not relate/So if you don't know what to make of this/Then we will not relate" suggest the sense of disconnection that can sometimes come with change.

The refrain, "Rivers and roads," conjures the image of constant movement and change, while also implying that there is some destination that the singer is trying to reach; that something leads them onward, even if it's uncertain what that something might be. The repetition of the phrase drives home the sense of constant motion, and perhaps the hope that what has been lost might someday be regained.