Lyrics Riverbank - John Cale

Riverbank

All along the riverbank
Nobody seems to know
They heard nothing, saw even less
Of the hunger in their souls
Safety first or safety last
I wish I could have helped
Those poor unfortunate widows standing
Waiting for their sailor boys
Old Madame Nhu, yes madame knew
Yes madame knew
Down they came to look around
Round that riverbank
For names or numbers or anything they could find
Written there on the wall
'Cause somebody seemed to know
But no one was prepared to tell
Anything they’d learnt to love about long ago
Anything at all they’d learnt to love long ago
With the cold people getting colder
Like babysitters in their graves
Satisfied as heretic vicars passing on
Send them running on ahead
Picking up the windy trash instead
Like foulmouthed people, open-heart surgery creatures
Crawling back inside of you
All along the riverbank
Nobody will ever know
What fools and their monies, what sailors and their honeys
Got stung one evening there
'Cause the stones around their necks
Are the stones on the riverbank
'Cause the stones around their necks
Are the stones on the riverbank