Dear Lord here on this river bank
Before we launch today
Please listen for a moment
To what a boatman has to say
Now I don't claim to be a saint
And my souls not lily white
Sometimes I yield to temptation
Sometimes I drink too much at night
Down here I'm not an angel
Don't even want to talk about the town
With all its woes and pitfalls
And the things that get you down
So I'm really in no position
To ask for much from you
But if you could see the way
Please try and hear me through
Life down here's a pleasure
And there's beauty everywhere
So I'm really not complaining
In my humble little prayer
The thing I'm trying to get across
In my stublin' bumblin' way
Is a boatman he's not really bad
No matter what they say
But a boatman's life's not easy
Although I'm not trying to alibi
There's no turning back up river
There's no use to even try
Whatever lies before you
You've got to see it through
You can't stop half way
And back off and start anew
Its just things aren't as easy
As they look to those outside
It's more than jumping in a boat
And going for a ride
Now I'm not too worried
About what's down the way
'Cause I've done this many times before
When I didn't even pray
Oh! I don't take it lightly!
I've always got to know
There's an old lion a roarin'
In the river down below
But we'll make it through the rapids
There'll be no problem there
That's really not the reason
For me to say this prayer
The reason I'm a talkin'
and it's not easy for me to say
Just please don't view us boatmen
In the ordinary way
I love this world you made us
And I love the rivers too
I like the things that are simple
And I like the work I do
But could you sort of look the other way
And a few small things forgive?
For it's a little different
This kind of life I live
I have no neighbors watching
To see what I do each day
So it's just a little easier
To stray off the narrow way
Now I have no church to go to
They just aren't built down here
But I see your walls and canyons
And I feel you very near
Now I'm standing here a rattlin'
I've talked for quite a spell
I still can't seem to get across
What I'm try to tell
It's just please try to overlook
Some of the things I do
I may not be like you other children
But I feel very close to you
Amen