Oh, Adeline

Lyrics

Oh, Adeline

We walked where the sycamores shade the old track
With a heavy gray sky riding low on our backs
She talked of a ticket, I spoke of the land
How the past is a shackle folks won’t understand
The river ran quiet, the moon low and thin
I swore to my Savior I’d bring her back in

     Oh, Adeline
     The river took your breath away
     Oh, Adeline
     There’s a price that I’ll pay
     The slate is slick, the water’s black
     And there’s no trail to lead us back
     Poor Adeline
     I’ve crossed that heavy, dark line

One step on the edge where the slate turned to slick
The air went to static, the silence turned thick
The ground gave a shudder and gave to the stream
A crack in the night, a tear in a dream
I shouted her name to the heavy black air
But the river was hungry and she wasn’t there

     Repeat Chorus

The law found a shoe in the mud by the bend
Said my story starts ragged and won’t find an end
I tell ’em I loved her, I swear that I stayed
I show ’em the river, the bed that it made
But late in the night when the house settles low
I hear that dark water and know what I know

If guilt is a mountain, I’m lost on the peak
If sin is a language, it’s all that I speak
Don’t call it murder, that’s a label, a lie
Call it a moment that simply passed by
I never pushed her, I made no demand
I just didn’t tighten the grip of my hand

     Repeat Chorus

Writer: J. Ryan Johnson (BMI)
Copyright: © 2026 J. Ryan Johnson. All rights reserved.
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