god ain't in his heaven
something ain't right
i hear church bells ringing
in the middle of the night
they're dragging a man by his insides
through the broad daylight
thieves have their season sure
but it's getting on midnight
and the river's gonna rise
it's gonna rise
there'll be dancing in the street
when the river done rise
cold wind is blowing
flags flapping much too slow
the monkey men sell paradise
to the girls from tupelo
black shirted boys in the badlands
play machine gun rodeo
the downtown missions packed too tight
with folks that got nowhere to go
but the river's gonna rise
it's gonna rise
and there'll be dancing in the street
when the river done rise
god ain't in his heaven
something ain't right
the tv newsman smiles and says
the curfew starts tonight
they're killing a man from the inside
in the broad daylight
while the propped up puppet wags his head
and watches all the proud things die
but the river's gonna rise