Lyrics
Meet me by the riverside later on the day
Setting a rendezvous by the riverside for a later time
Gonna watch the hanging of an honest man
Anticipating the public execution of an honest man
Say he ain't the guilty one but someone has to pay
Asserting the innocence of the man, despite the need for a scapegoat
They will not be pleased before they see him hanged
Emphasizing the crowd's satisfaction in witnessing the hanging
As he cries out
Depicting the condemned man crying out
Turn and face the crowd as he cries out
Describing the man facing the crowd as he cries out
No one makes a sound as he cries out
Highlighting the silence of the crowd in response to the cries
'Fore he hits the ground, he cries out
Portraying the man's final moments before hitting the ground
It's your spirit now
Suggesting a transformation or release of the condemned spirit
Find me in the river
Inviting someone to find the speaker in the river
Swing me from the tree
Expressing a desire to be freed symbolically from a tree
So won't you free the slave in me?
Pleading for the liberation of the metaphorical slave within
Leave me when the time is near, leave me be please
Requesting to be left alone as the end approaches
This is not the way you should remember me
Advising against remembering the speaker in a negative way
Have you nothing else to say? Final words, the truth
Calling for the truth in the speaker's final words
Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do
Quoting forgiveness akin to Jesus on the cross
As he cries out
Repeating the scene of the condemned man crying out
Yes, he can't be found as he cries out
Noting the man's disappearance as he continues to cry out
No one makes a sound as he cries out
Underlining the continued silence of the onlookers
'Fore he hits the ground, he cries out
Emphasizing the imminent fall of the condemned man
Where's your Savior now?
Raising a question about the absence of a savior
Throw me in the ocean
Asking to be thrown into the ocean, perhaps as a metaphor for release
Pass me in the sea
Referencing passing in the sea, further symbolizing freedom
So won't you free the slave in me?
Reiterating the plea to free the metaphorical slave within
Don't you know, oh, don't you know?
Posing a rhetorical question about awareness
Whoa, they coming home for you
Warning of impending consequences for unspecified actions
You can run, run on now
Suggesting the possibility of escaping the consequences
Oh, they coming home for you
Repeating the warning that consequences will catch up
Until you bleed, oh
Emphasizing the severity of the consequences
Until you bleed, oh
Repeating the severity of the consequences for emphasis
Darkness is coming
Announcing the approach of darkness, suggesting adversity
Darkness, you should take shelter
Advising to seek shelter from the impending darkness
You should take shelter
Repeating the call to take shelter from darkness
Darkness is coming
Reiterating the arrival of darkness and potential hardships
Darkness and hell
Connecting darkness with hell, indicating a grim situation
Is your conscience clear?
Questioning the clarity of one's conscience, hinting at guilt
Have you seen the brave man hanging from the tree?
Prompting reflection on witnessing a brave man hanged
Say, who'll be the first to sleep?
Pondering who will be the first to experience sleep, possibly death
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