Inventing the Black Country

The Man Who Built His House on the River

The

First

There was a man who moved on down to the river
To escape a way of life that had him in thrall
Sometimes women would come to visit him from the city
But they left before he could mount them on the wall

And the rains came down and filled on up to the doorstep
And the spirits would rise to haunt him from the flood
They said you’ll never wash your sins away in this river
Because the water is too heavy with your own blood

There was a man who built his house on the water
He knew he oughtta stay but wouldn’t change his mind
There was a man who built his house on the river
He never did achieve the peace he thought he’d find

There was a man who thought that idling lonely
He’d find the muse and satisfy her call
So he wandered up and he wandered down this river
And he found his own reflection, that was all

And the rains came down and filled on up to the doorstep
And the spirits would rise to haunt him from the flood
They said you’ll never wash your sins away in this river
Because the water is too heavy with your own blood

There was a man who built his house on the water
He knew he oughtta stay but wouldn’t change his mind
There was a man who built his house on the river
He never did achieve the peace he thought he’d find

There was a man who built his house on the water
He only sought a chance to leave it all behind
There was a man who built his house on the river
He never did apologise for all his life