| Mary almost made it to twenty-nine
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| The mother of an orphan and a friend of mine
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| Painted up with high heels on her feet
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| Making what she could from this filthy street
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| Dead on the river yesterday
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| Been gutted like some varmint, so they say
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| With a tangled rope around her, she was bound
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| Dead on the river, rolling down
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| Well, I was quotin' scripture at an early age
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| The old man ruled his household in a gospel rage
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| Up and down our hallway, the Bible spilled
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| Left behind a sinner in the mill and field
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| Dead on the river yesterday
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| I don’t know how much longer that I can stay
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| They’re saying now there were two more bodies found
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| Dead on the river, rolling down
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| The Feds are in their best suits, pulling rank
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| Scattered out with their bloodhounds along the bank
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| And the city lights, they flicker on the one-lane bridge
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| The siren echoes bouncing along the ridge
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| Dead on the river yesterday
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| I need a flood to wash my sins away
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| Like an ancient hickory, twisted, turning brown
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| Dead on the river, rolling down |