River

This song is about faith. Leon Bridges told Uncut: "I've noticed a lot of soul singers of the '50s and '60s used river metaphors. The river in my song is a metaphor for being born again."

The song was inspired by the traditional American spiritual "Down To The River To Pray," which was famously covered by Alison Krauss for the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? Bridges heard the tune at one of his local open mics. "It just really amazed me," he told Spin. "And it helped me find God in my story."

Leon Bridges explained the background to the song: "A river has historically been used in gospel music as symbolism for change and redemption. My goal was to write a song about my personal spiritual experience. It was written during a time of real depression in my life and I recall sitting in my garage trying to write a song which reflected this struggle. I felt stuck working multiple jobs to support myself and my mother. I had little hope and couldn't see a road out of my reality. The only thing I could cling to in the midst of all that was my faith in God and my only path towards baptism was by way of the river."