1, 2, 3, 4 Colorado passes by like writing on a wall Headed eastward down to New Orleans Dipping into Texas as the stars are fading out There's still a lot of country in between When I left California I was 29 years old And the world just spun me around Now I watched Louisiana scroll across the window pane And I'm facing the direction I am bound Cover up the sun Let the river run Make that waters come Wash me away Me, Clifton and the king of cats We sat down in the road Pedro said, boys, we're three of kind He said I sat with river rats and I hung my hat with diplomats Had four brothers once upon a time He said they tore the country far away from the Rio Grande And the road just wore them down So they bought a house beside a lake, outside of New Orleans And they stared in the direction of the escalating sound Cover up the sun Let the river run Take this good man's son And wash him away Well Sister indeciperable is talking to a wall Back in New York city, she's a queen (in New York she's a queen) Well, resurrect or genuflect, she saves the one she can't protect Keeps the chapel Pris', if not Sis' tine She drinks Absinthe mixed with Kerosene to keep herself upright But the word still brings her down If you can't keep your shit together When God is on your side What chance do you have when he's not around? Cover up the sun Make that water run Let the river come To wash me away People of the Mardi Gras, in their Tuesday best Waiting for the South to rise again Children of Geronimo grieving for the West Feather dressed and marching their refrain Oh in the dark of Armstrong Park the marching bands ascend But they never make a sound Just a quiet prayer for Congo Square A silent conversation there With the night to rest our eyes in We just look to the horizon for a change Cover up the sun Let the river run I pray the water come and wash me away Color in the sky Make that diesel fly Oh, just lay me down to die and just take me away Yeah