Cover Up the Sun

Colorado passes by like writing on a wall Headed Eastward down to New Orleans Dipping into Texas as the stars are fading out But there’s still a lot of country in-between When I left California, I was 29 years old And the world just spun me ‘round Now I just watch Louisiana Scroll across the windowpane And I face in the direction I am bound   Cover up the sun Let the river run Make the waters come and wash me away (Verse) Me, Clifton, and the King of Cats Sat down in the road Pedro said, "Boys, we're three of kind" He said “I’ve sat with river rats And I’ve hung my hat with diplomats I had 4 brothers once upon a time” He said they toured the country far away from the Rio Grande But the road just wore them down So they bought a house beside a lake outside of New Orleans And they stared in the direction of the escalating sound   Cover up the sun Let the river run Take this good man’s son and wash him away Sister Indecipherable is talking to a wall Back in New York City, she’s a queen Resurrect or genuflect She saves the ones she can’t protect And keeps the chapel pris- (if not Sis-) tine She drinks Absinthe mixed with Kerosene to keep herself upright But the world still brings her down If you can't keep your shit together when God is on your side What chance do you have when he's not around? Make that water run Let the river come to wash me away   People of the Mardi Gras in their Tuesday best Waiting for the South to rise again Children of Geronimo grieving for the West Feather dressed and marching their refrain And in the dark of Armstrong Park The marching bands ascend But they never make a sound Just a quiet prayer for Congo Square A silent conversation there With the night to rest our eyes in We just look to the horizon for the change Cover up the sun Let the river run Pray the waters come to wash me away   Color in the sky Make the diesel fly Lay me down to die and take me away