River Gate Hymn

River Gate Hymn

[Verse 1]

Mama left a Bible on the sill

By a jar of peach jam and a bent church bill

Daddy said, “Girl, keep your head held high”

But I learned to cry in a Sunday sky

I drove past the fields where the corn stood tall

Past the old white chapel with the cracked front wall

And I kept one prayer in my coat pocket seam

Like a coal that waited for a flame to breathe

[Pre-Chorus]

If I fall, let the water hold me

If I break, let the mercy find me

I’ve been walking with a heavy name

But I’m still singing through the rain

[Chorus]

Hallelujah, carry me home

Hallelujah, I’m not alone

When the river rises, You rise higher

(You rise higher)

Hallelujah, carry me home

Hallelujah, carry me home

[Verse 2]

There’s a picture frame with the glass half gone

And a letter on the table from the road I’m on

I wore my boots through the red clay mud

With a scar on my knee and a stubborn heart

The preacher said, “Child, don’t fear the night”

So I learned to trust what I cannot sight

Now I stand on the porch with my hands open wide

Like a daughter waiting for the prodigal light

[Pre-Chorus]

If I fall, let the water hold me

If I break, let the mercy find me

I’ve been walking with a heavy name

But I’m still singing through the rain

[Chorus]

Hallelujah, carry me home

Hallelujah, I’m not alone

When the river rises, You rise higher

(You rise higher)

Hallelujah, carry me home

Hallelujah, carry me home

[Bridge]

Take this tired, take this torn

Take the dust where I was born

I have nothing in my hands

But a song and trembling hands

Still I hear that mercy call

Through the thunder, through it all

If I’m weak, then let me be

Held by something bigger than me

[Final Chorus]

Hallelujah, carry me home

Hallelujah, I’m not alone

When the river rises, You rise higher

(You rise higher)

Hallelujah, carry me home

Hallelujah, carry me home

Hallelujah, carry me home