What does Wait By The River mean?

Lord Huron: Wait By The River Meaning

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Album cover for Wait By The River album cover

Song Released: 2018


Wait By The River Lyrics

I will wait by the river
In the light of the moon
At the edge of the city
I will wait for you
Though I can't wait forever
Someday I'll be dead and gone
And I won't be forgiven
For what I've done
I will wait by the river
I will wait by...

  1. anonymous
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    Jun 19th 2023 !⃝

    After listening to the lyrics, I felt like he was taking to a loved one, either a girlfriend or wife after their passing. He then says he regrets the things he said and that I honestly doesn’t wish they were dead. It sort of sounds like the had a fight, but soon after, his love passed.

  2. anonymous
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    Jan 17th 2023 !⃝



    This song sounds like he killed someone and he's singing to the body floating down the river.

  3. anonymous
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    Nov 6th 2022 !⃝

    You say and do things you regret constantly, then get stuck waiting “wait by the river” for things to get better by putting in little to no effort. You realize your selfishness has been so cruel and it’s best for everyone that you let your lonesomeness consume you and leave it all behind.

  4. anonymous
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    Sep 19th 2021 !⃝

    I wasn't so sure at first when reading some of the comments on this page, but listening to the song again.. I think I can agree... I would just like to add that I think this is an expression, or statement about toxic relationships as well, which I suppose is probably obvious, but still felt it was important to point out simply for the fact that if not paying attention to the subtlety of the melody of his voice, it gives the initial impression of something sad, soft, and sweet. All in all, I love the way this song was done, and can really appreciate Lord Huron's music!

  5. anonymous
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    May 17th 2021 !⃝

    There’s a lot being read into this song that might be missing the mark. The lyrics suggest a much more simple drama is playing out.

    The narrator seems to be in the midst of a overblown breakup with his love. He retreats to the eponymous river, inviting his girl to meet him there with every intention of taking his own life (apparently by letting the river drown him, implied by the lyrics “the stars fill the river/ as it flows into the sky”).

    In Christianity, suicide is considered an major sin. The narrator has not yet done what will make him unforgivable but is preparing himself for the possibility that his girl, who is clearly alive, will not reconcile with him. Why, for instance, would he wait for her at all, or try to change her mind, if he had killed her. The more likely scenario is that he is being overly dramatic, and this is the song of a young fool who argued with his girlfriend, said things he regrets (“baby, I didn’t mean the things I said, I don’t honestly wish you were dead”), and is now contemplating suicide as a remedy for his heartache.

  6. anonymous
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    Mar 23rd 2020 !⃝

    This song is about the lost love of the narrator supposedly dead. The song sets the tone of pain and grief as the narrator goes on with song. The song also suggests the idea that the death of his lover is somewhere caused due his actions. Narrator is also very sorry for what he has done which might have led to his lovers death. At the end of the song narrator suggests that he will meet his lover in the heaven and will apologies for all the things he has done and maybe his lover will change her mind and they will be together again.

  7. anonymous
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    Feb 5th 2020 !⃝

    Psyco guy kills a girl he stalks and drowns her in a river then kills himself.

  8. anonymous
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    Dec 19th 2019 !⃝

    Sounds like he said something mean enough to make her take her own life or killed her. He regrets it, then contemplates taking his own life.

  9. anonymous
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    Oct 19th 2018 !⃝

    This probably isn't what the song is actually about, but it has strong implications towards the Spanish legend La Llorona - a mother who impulsively drowned her two children in a river. After she killed them, she just then realized what she did and started searching for their bodies in case they were still alive. To no avail, she couldnt find them, and drowned herself in the same river. The line "I will wait by the river. "I wont be forgiven for what I have done." "I will cry out to Heaven." "I will beg for forgiveness." "If we cant be together, what's the point of life?" "I dont honestly wish you were dead." "If I only could hold you again." "And the mind leaves the body, and floats higher and higher" (representing her children leaving their worldly bodies and becoming a spirit in Heaven.) And then lastly "If we cant be together, I will leave this world behind." Its crazy how much the legend La Llorona fits.


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