For My Sunday Song #269, we are going to dive in to the song “Even the River Runs Out of This Town” by Will Hoge. Man, I love that song title. The song is off his latest album, 2020’s ‘Tiny Little Movies’. The song didn’t chart, but it is one of the reason why I think this was one of the best albums to come out in 2020 and one of the best Will Hoge has ever done. It is a masterpiece as each song is exactly what the title of the album says they are….tiny little movies.

“Even the River Runs Out of this Town” I thought was about how small town America keeps getting smaller as the young adults keep leaving for the big city which you can interpret it that way. However, the song is about lost love and how he had to let her go. Even though he loved her, she was smothered by that love and that town and needed to leave. He states the highways and the railroads all leave town and that even the river leaves so it must be her turn now. It is quite a beautiful sentiment. The song is his longing for the girl that got away.

Musically, the song is a ballad done on acoustic guitar and Will’s voice. It is stripped down to its bare bones, it is raw and you can feel the pain, the heartache and the longing for his lost love. When the music can be as sad as the lyrics, then he has done something right. Like with a lot of songs of Will’s, the music is handled by nothing but uber talented musicians, but it is the lyrics that are the star and that is the case for any good songwriter.

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Give the song a listen and let me know what you think. I hope you find it is as beautiful as I do and you have to admit that song title is awesome. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a Happy Sunday!

“Even The River Runs Out Of This Town”

I hope the skies are beautiful and blue
Wherever it is you, find yourself tonight
I hope the miles help to find your smile
Cause it’s been gone awhile
And if I told the truth

You can’t blame a heart for getting broken
You can’t change the color of the blues
The railroad track and the highway
I guess it’s your turn now
Even the river runs out of this town

Part of me hates to see you leaving
But the bigger part’s believing it’s what you had to do
You can’t burn bright in a town this dark
Can’t hitch your wishes to a one horse star
And I can’t blame you for that

You can’t blame a heart for getting broken
You can’t change the color of the blues
The railroad track and the highway
I guess it’s your turn now
Even the river runs out of this town

You can’t blame a heart for getting broken
You can’t change the color of the blues
The railroad track and the highway
I guess it’s your turn now
Even the river runs out of this town

And I love you so much
I ain’t asking you to stick around
Even the river runs out of this town

Written by Robert Snyder, Jonathan David Singleton and Will Hoge