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Pete Townshend — The Sea Refuses No River
Album: All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes
Avg rating:
5.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 41









Released: 1982
Length: 5:44
Plays (last 30 days): 0
I remember being richer than a king
The minutes of the day were golden
I recall that when the joint passed 'round
My body felt a little colder
But now I'm like a sewer channel, running lime and scag
Let me get at the master panel, let me at my stack

The sea refuses no river
And right now, this river's banks are blown
The sea refuses no river
Whether stinking and rank
Or red from the tank
Whether pure as a spring
There's no damned thing stops this poem
The sea refuses no river
And this river is homeward flowing

I have seen a trace of strain
In other's eyes not spoken
I must admit that I enjoyed their pain
But this time, it's me that's broken
I demand for you and His
This must be the time
When we decide what freedom is
Turn water into wine

For the sea refuses no river
We're polluted now but in our hearts still clean
The sea refuses no river
We tried not to age
But time had it's rage
We're washed over stones
From babes into clones of the mean
The sea refuses no river
Won't deny this sulfurous stream

There was a fool in a dressing robe
Riding out the twilight hour
Lonely and cold in an empty home
Trying to assess his power
But now he's like a stream in flood
Swollen by the storm
He doesn't care if he sheds his blood
Let him be reborn

The sea refuses no river
Remember that when the beggar buys a round
The sea refuses no river
And rain fills the gutters
No time for stutters
This is our chance
To sing and to dance and to clown
The sea refuses no river
And rivers were sprung to drown

The sea refuses no river
No pecking code respected for the damned
The sea refuses no river
Whether starving or ill
Or strung on some pill
Just 'cause you own the land
There's no unique hand plugs the dam
The sea refuses no river
And the river is where I am
The river is where I am
Comments (8)add comment
I really like Pete Townsend's songwriting. Listen to 'Street in the City' from the CD 'Rough Mix' w. Ronnie Lane. I think that his rock opera "The Iron Man" with John Lee Hooker as the "Iron Man" was brilliant. I also really liked "Psychoderelict". Pete Townsend was the principal song writer for the 'Who' and probably one of the greatest rock guitarists to play in any era.
Pete can be too wordy at times - lyricosis(?) - but it's worth it for the gems he occassionally produces. Tommy beget Quadrophenia beget Who's Next, which eventually beget the stillborn post-Keith works. Even DaVinci and Michelangelo produced a few bombs.
hideous
over the top and over-produced, IMHO
Bruce Springsteen? Is that you?
I'm sorry - this just doesn't sound quite so incredibly profound to me. A bad take on PG?
LOVE THIS. (Like Slit Skirts even better, but...) Lyrics that send the chill down and the blood up! It doesn't get much deeper than THIS! A man just can't jam much consistently harder than Pete did, either -- THANKS!
nothing profound or witty .. i just like this song .. a lot of it is a nostalgia thing for me ..