And the river will rise up And heal all the scars On this broken skin And drown in this cup And the flies they will flock And throw into the dock And listen with a crooked ear And they cackle and they sneer And the river will rise up And the river will rise up And the matter of murder Sits on my shoulder And whispers to me That I will be free God Volcano! Give me my self respect I plead God Volcano! This one thing I can believe And the river will rise up And in your lonely dark designs Feel the cut and scaly rind The malice and the wicked crimes Of the sordid daily grind And the river will rise up And the words they spit with hate Will never mitigate Any semblance of the truth That's broken or despised *God Volcano! Give me my self respect I plead God Volcano! This one thing I can believe God Volcano! Bring your flesh right into me God Volcano! You are the air that I can breathe