The Sea Refuses No River

I remember being richer than a king The minutes of the day were golden I recall that when the joint passed 'round My body felt a little colder But now I'm like a sewer channel Running lime and scag Let me get at the master panel Let me at my stack The sea refuses no river And right now This river's banks are blown The sea refuses no river Whether stinking and rank Or red from the tank Whether pure as a spring There's no damn thing stops the poem The sea refuses no river And this river is homeward flowing I have seen a trace of strain In other's eyes, not spoken I must admit that I enjoyed their pain But this time it's me that's broken I demand for you and His This must be the time When we decide what freedom is Turn water into wine For the sea refuses no river We're polluted now But in our hearts still clean The sea refuses no river We tried not to age But time had it's rage We're washed over the stones From babies into clones of the mean The sea won't refuse this muddy river Won't deny the sulfurous stream There was a fool in a dressing robe Riding out the twilight hour Lonely and cold in an empty home Trying to assess his power But now he's like a stream in flood Swollen by the storm He doesn't care if he sheds his blood Let him be reborn The sea refuses no river Remember that When the beggar buys a round The sea refuses no river And rain fills the gutters No time for stutters This is our chance To sing and to dance and to clown The sea refuses no river And rivers were sprung to drown The sea refuses no river No pecking code Respected for the damned The sea refuses no river Whether starving and ill Or strung on some pill Just 'cos you own the land There's no unique hand plugs the dam The sea refuses no river And the river is where I am The river is where I am