Songs about the river include 1. River Euphrates 2. Big River 3. Cry Me a River. Water is a common metaphor in pop music.
From Rock to Country to Pop, many genres have used the mighty metaphor of the river to mean a variety of things. From the ever-flowing effervescence of life to tears to even something darker, these singers have wrung as much inspiration out of the water as they can, in more ways than one.
In this article, we have decided to focus on Rock, Country, and Pop as the three main genres to see what the singers within each have done with aquatic imagery and metaphor to enhance their music.
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Rock Songs About Rivers
Rock songs about water include 1. River Euphrates by Pixies 2. Take Me to the River by Talking Heads 3. The River of Dreams by Billy Joel.
| River Euphrates | Pixies |
| Song Name: | Artist Name: |
| Mouth Of The River | Imagine Dragons |
| Watching the River Flow | Bob Dylan |
| River (Pale Communion) | Opeth |
| The River | Good Charlotte |
| River | Joni Micthell |
| Boat On The River | Styx |
| Moonlight on the River | Mac DeMarco |
| The River of Dreams | Billy Joel |
| Take Me to the River | Talking Heads |
River Euphrates by Pixes
River Euphrates is the sixth track from Pixies’ debut album Surfer Rosa. The song has gained a cult following among fans of the band.
Given that the fans of the band include eminent figures like Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Placebo’s Brian Molko, the track carries a lot of weight in Alternative Rock circles. The song is quite literally about the titular river in the Middle East.
Like most of their songs, the lyrics are subservient to the music, which is disjointed, and jangly, but filled with hooks that mirror the desert journey.
Take Me to the River by Talking Heads
Take Me to the River is the tenth track from Talking Heads’ album More Songs About Buildings and Food. It was originally done by Al Green.
However, due to the rise in popularity of the Heads, the song is mostly remembered for their version which they first played live. The live version was filled with wild experimentation and their seminal pushing of the Punk genre into New Wave.
Then, when the band got into the studio with Brian Eno, the experimentation became more subdued but also much more varied, and the band created the song we know now.
The River of Dreams by Billy Joel
The River of Dreams is the title track of the album of the same name. The record is famous for being Joel’s penultimate album.
The river he is talking about is the river of life, and the narrator is walking by it trying to find a myriad of things from faith to love to even the meaning of life. He may never find it, but the mere fact that he is walking is all the difference.
Widely remembered as Joel’s last big hit, it peaked at #3 on the Billboard 100 and the UK Charts. Not only was it his highest chart hit of the 90s but the only one as he didn’t release another album until 2001.
Country Songs About The River
River country song includes 1. Big River by Johnny Cash 2. ‘Till The Rivers All Run Dry by Don Williams 3. Rivers Run Red by The Steeldrivers.
| Rivers Run Red | The Steeldrivers |
| Man in the River | Ken Bowel |
| The River | Bruce Springsteen |
| Whiskey River | Cross Canadian Ragweed |
| Green River | Creedence Clearwater Revival |
| River Run | Ian Munsick |
| You, Me & the River | Chris Janson and Eric Church |
| Hold Back The River | James Bay |
| ‘Till The Rivers All Run Dry | Don Williams |
| Big River | Johnny Cash |
| Song Name: | Artist Name: |
Big River by Johnny Cash
Big River is a song Johnny Cash wrote and recorded back in 1958. The song was released via the famous Sun Records.
The track tells the story of a lost love that the narrator chases through the Mississippi River. Starting from St. Paul, Minnesota all the way to New Orleans, Louisiana, the narrator finally blames the river for not being able to be with his one-sided love.
The song is one of Cash’s early successes as it not only peaked at #4 on the Country charts but stayed on it for an impressive 14 weeks.
‘Till All The Rivers Run Dry by Don Williams
Don Williams wrote ‘Till All The Rivers Run Dry with Wayland Holyfield in 1975. The song was his first single from his album Harmony.
The track was a huge success as it peaked atop the Hot Country Songs chart for a week and then stayed on there for over twelve weeks. It was also his fourth number-one song in total.
It is a sweet love song with the narrator saying that they will love their partner until the end of time. Aside from the river running dry they also use the metaphor of the sun falling from the sky and life on Earth ending.
Rivers Run Red by The Steeldrivers
Rivers Run Red is a Country/Bluegrass track from the Steeldrivers. It is the eleventh track on their “The Muscle Shoals Recordings.”
The song is a tribute to the Battle of Stones River which occurred during the American Civil War. The track is a lament to all the soldiers who were slain on both sides during that hallowed battle on December 31, 1862.
The title is a horrifying reminder of needless bloodshed that often times only leads to one thing: the rivers running red.
Popular Songs About Rivers
Famous songs about river are 1. Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake 2. River by Eminem 3. I follow Rivers by Lykke Li.
| Song Name: | Artist Name: |
| Wait by the River | Lord Huron |
| River | Miley Cyrus |
| Wold River | Reignwolf |
| The River | AURORA |
| River of Tears | Alessia Cara |
| River Road | ZAYN |
| Moon River | Audrey Hepburn |
| I Follow Rivers | Lykke Li |
| River (Featuring Ed Sheeran) | Eminem |
| Cry Me a River | Justin Timberlake |
Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake
Cry Me a River is a single by Justin Timberlake from his album Justified. The song was produced by famous Virginia producer Timbaland.
It is one of the singer’s most popular tracks owing to the controversy surrounding it and its music video. The song itself talks about denouncing the comings on of an unfaithful ex-partner which many believe to be JT’s real-life ex, Britney Spears.
The music video on the other hand courted its own controversy for featuring a look-alike of Spears and also showed Timberlake making love to another woman and leaving the tape in the Spears’ look-alike’s house.
River by Eminem
River is a track from Eminem’s much-reviled album Revival. It is the fifth song on the album and features English singer, Ed Sheeran.
The emotionally-charged song tells the story of a failing relationship that sadly culminates in an abortion. The tale is of a man cheating on his lover who soon founds out about the infidelity and ends up cheating on him with Eminem.
The rapper, though he knows he is being used, keeps at it just to fill the void in his life. Eventually, the man finds out and leaves the girl around the same time that the rapper does too, and the song ends with the girl being pregnant by Eminem and aborting her baby.
I Follow Rivers by Lykke Li
I Follow Rivers is the second single off of Lykke Li’s sophomore album Wounded Rhymes. The song came out in 2011 and is produced by Bjorn Yttling.
One of Li’s most popular tracks, it is also her most covered and remixed one as there has been a popular example of both. Belgian DJ, The Magician remixed the track to much success in late 2011 and a Belgian band, Triggerfinger covered it the next year.
The song is also associated with the French film, Blue Is the Warmest Colour due to an unofficial music video made of the Magician remix juxtaposed with scenes from that movie. In fact, this unofficial video has far surpassed the original in views.
Moon River by Audrey Hepburn
Moon River is a song sung by actress Audrey Hepburn in the movie, Breakfast by Tiffany’s. The song went on to win an Oscar for Best Original Song.
Written by Johnny Mercer, the song has since been seen as one of the ultimate examples of movie tracks due to Hepburn’s beautiful rendition. It has since been covered by singers like Jerry Butler, Barry Manilow, and most popularly Frank Ocean.
River Songs Playlist
Best river songs include 1. River by Leon Bridges 2.River by Bishop Briggs 3. River by Ibeyi.
| Song & Artist Name: | Album Release Date: |
| River by Leon Bridges | Coming Home (June 23, 2015) |
| River by Bishop Briggs | Church of Scars (April 20, 2018) |
| River by Ibeyi | Ibeyi (Februay 16, 2015) |
| River by Ben Platt | Music from The Politician (October 22, 2019) |
| River by Herbie Hancock | River: The Joni Letters (September 25, 2007) |
| River by Charlie Puth | Nine Track Mind (November 11, 2016) |
| River by Tom Gregory | Things I Can’t Say Out Loud (October 29, 2021) |
| River by Dominic Haynes | River (June 1, 2019) |
| River by Kylie Spence | River (August 20, 2021) |
| River by Opeth | Pale Communion (August 25, 2014) |