Verse 1:
There’s a river that runs where the daylight dies,
Thick as tar under starless skies.
It doesn’t reflect - only swallows the face,
And it teaches your shadow to keep its place.
Pre-Chorus:
Ney like a wound that won’t close or heal,
Jaw harp ticking like a turning wheel.
Five steps forward, one step down -
That’s how you walk to a drowned-out crown.
Chorus:
I made my Black River Vows,
With my mouth full of mud and my head in the clouds.
I swore I’d bury the sun in the seam of the night,
Swore I’d never be clean, never be right.
These are my Black River Vows -
Let the current take names, let it take my howls.
When the riff hits low and the drumline grows,
I become what the river already knows.
Verse 2:
I watched the reeds bend like sinners in prayer,
I watched the water comb death through my hair.
A thousand small hands in the undertow
Tug at my ankles, whispering go.
Pre-Chorus:
Duduk is a candle in a skull of frost,
A tiny light for the hopeless lost.
I don’t need heaven, I don’t need proof -
I need the ground like a rotten tooth.
Chorus:
I made my Black River Vows…
I swore I’d bury the sun in the seam of the night,
Swore I’d never be clean, never be right.
These are my Black River Vows -
When the riff hits low and the drumline grows,
I become what the river already knows.
Bridge:
Count the beats - five scars in the skin,
Each one a door I can’t walk in.
The river sings with a throat of stone,
And it calls my voice its rightful tone.
Final Chorus:
I made my Black River Vows,
I traded my peace for a permanent growl.
I swore I’d bury the sun and I meant it tonight -
Let the crowd go wild as the world turns white.
These are my Black River Vows…
And the river keeps pulling when the chorus blows.
There’s a river that runs where the daylight dies,
Thick as tar under starless skies.
It doesn’t reflect - only swallows the face,
And it teaches your shadow to keep its place.
Pre-Chorus:
Ney like a wound that won’t close or heal,
Jaw harp ticking like a turning wheel.
Five steps forward, one step down -
That’s how you walk to a drowned-out crown.
Chorus:
I made my Black River Vows,
With my mouth full of mud and my head in the clouds.
I swore I’d bury the sun in the seam of the night,
Swore I’d never be clean, never be right.
These are my Black River Vows -
Let the current take names, let it take my howls.
When the riff hits low and the drumline grows,
I become what the river already knows.
Verse 2:
I watched the reeds bend like sinners in prayer,
I watched the water comb death through my hair.
A thousand small hands in the undertow
Tug at my ankles, whispering go.
Pre-Chorus:
Duduk is a candle in a skull of frost,
A tiny light for the hopeless lost.
I don’t need heaven, I don’t need proof -
I need the ground like a rotten tooth.
Chorus:
I made my Black River Vows…
I swore I’d bury the sun in the seam of the night,
Swore I’d never be clean, never be right.
These are my Black River Vows -
When the riff hits low and the drumline grows,
I become what the river already knows.
Bridge:
Count the beats - five scars in the skin,
Each one a door I can’t walk in.
The river sings with a throat of stone,
And it calls my voice its rightful tone.
Final Chorus:
I made my Black River Vows,
I traded my peace for a permanent growl.
I swore I’d bury the sun and I meant it tonight -
Let the crowd go wild as the world turns white.
These are my Black River Vows…
And the river keeps pulling when the chorus blows.
