Chorus

I killed a man in the river
Yeah I watched the current
Carry him away
Yeah I killed a man
Down in the river
Yeah I had to take a life
To keep one out the grave

Verse 1

He was friends with the devil
Wasn't worth a dang
Tried to drown me in the bottle
Tried to choke me on smoke
He was hurtin' my mama
Had my old man
Prayin' like a preacher
At the end of his rope

Pre Chorus 1

It was justified
It was self defense
It was do or die
It was me or him

Chorus

So I killed a man in the river
Yeah I watched the current
Carry him away
Yeah I killed a man
Down in the river
Yeah I had to take a life
To keep one out the grave

Verse 2

Didn't pull no knife
Didn't fire no gun
Just held him under long enough
To put him down
Nobody's gonna miss that prodigal Son
He's probably halfway
Down the Mississippi by now

Pre Chorus 2

Went from guilty in sin
To covered in blood
Now who I am ain't who I was

Chorus

I killed a man in the river
Yeah I watched the current
Carry him away
Yeah I killed a man
Down in the river
Yeah I had to take a life
To keep one out the grave

Bridge

Wipin' muddy water out of my eyes
And that's the day
That I saw the light
'Bout six feet out in the Buffalo
Was my Damascus Road

Chorus

So I killed a man in the river
Yeah I watched the current
Carry him away
Yeah I killed a man
Down in the river
Yeah I had to take a life
To keep one out the grave

Tag 1

Oh sometimes you gotta take a life
To keep one out the grave

Tag 2

He was friends with the devil
Wasn't worth a dang
Tried to drown me in the bottle
Tried to choke me on smoke