“Hotel By The River” Playlist

I wrote “Hotel By The River” and “Jump Into the River” on the same day in the late 90s or early 00s. I don’t remember which year, although I do recall the occasion to write the two songs in one day: I had learned of a songwriting contest sponsored by a well-known (and now-defunct) coffee house in Bryn Mawr in conjunction with a radio station. The theme was “The River,” and I had something like two days before the deadline.

While “Jump Into the River” was my homage to trip-hop-era Aimee Mann, “Hotel By The River” was written as a what-if scenario: What if Leonard Cohen and Mary Chapin Carpenter had collaborated to craft a song for Linda Ronstadt? Suffice it to say, you’ll hear those artists in this playlist, as well as some interpretations of Cohen’s songs done by the likes of Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, and Jennifer Warnes. You’ll also hear some great songs by Elton John, Billy Joel, Harry Nilsson, Tom Waits, Otis Redding, Marc Cohn, Jackson Browne, Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, Fleetwood Mac, and Josh Groban.

And, of course, here’s the LINK WHERE YOU CAN LISTEN FOR FREE ON SPOTIFY. Don’t forget to share it with your friends. Please give it a listen! Remember, I only get about 3/4 of a cent for each time MY TRACK plays, so if you love the playlist, play it twice (with maybe a few extra spins of MY SONG), and convince your friends to listen as well on their own. It’s free to you, but it does help generate a tiny amount of revenue for me.

HOTEL BY THE RIVER LYRICS:

Well the rain falls slow and steady as I make the long drive home To a room lit up in neon and a bed I keep alone. I’ve got a lamp nailed to the nightstand where Gideon makes his keep And the sound of running water to soothe my soul to sleep.

I couldn’t make you love me. I couldn’t let you in. I’m in this hotel by the river to wash away my sin.

You said my heart was like the Jordan, drowned in a Dead Sea, And you spat out salty anger and returned to Galilee.

Now there’s a cross above the southern skies to mourn the sailors lost, unsaved, Those whose hearts, submerged like millstones, led them to watery grave.

I couldn’t beg forgiveness, so I took it it on the chin. I took this hotel by the river to wash away my sing.

So little separates the sacred from the scared, the holy from the wholly unprepared. And I bowed before another to prove I never cared.

Well the rain falls on the river outside my window pane. I’ve got a thesis on religion. I’ve got a heart that’s full of shame.

I couldn’t make you love me. I couldn’t let you in. I’m in this hotel by the river to wash away my sin.

I couldn’t beg forgiveness, so I took it it on the chin. I took this hotel by the river to wash away my sing.