80,000 Miles

I grew up in Niagara
Downriver from the falls
In the winter we’d build igloos in the snow
But when spring came
We’d go climbing
Down the sides of that great canyon
And watch in awe to see those mighty rapids flow

We’d slide down a rusty cable
And survive the poison ivy
As we hurried to the boulders far below
Along the paths of Iroquois
We’d search for ancient arrowheads
And listen to those mighty rapids flow

Chorus
Eighty thousand miles of water rushing to the ocean
From Erie and Superior from Michigan and Huron
Through a channel that was small enough
To almost throw a rock across
Sitting barefoot in the sun
While the power of that river thundered on

Each summer we would disappear
From the modern world around us
To an untamed realm where parents didn’t go
We’d scramble home for dinner
After spending endless hours
Watching those mighty rapids flow

Chorus

Not long ago I took my eldest son and flew back home
Time had changed the town I used to know
But when we found that rusty cable
I was ten years old again
Climbing down to where those mighty rapids flow

Chorus

Eighty thousand miles of water rushing to the ocean