Outside my window, lies the canyon Red and turquoise, orange and blue Wandering through the painted desert Like some bewildered drunken fool The Colorado deep within her Cuts, and rolls, and sings, and plays Waterfalls and purple rainbows In the midst of silver haze ♪ Once I knew a man who traveled Down the waters everyday Made his living, guiding strangers Where his shadows knew the way On the borders of the river Lit the fires and smoked the pipes Told the travelers all his stories Tell the men to win the prize White with foam, the water danced Over rocks and under skies Blue with summer, drenched in rain Faster than I realized ♪ He was hard about his work Soft about the Columbine's Spoke about apache friends Missed the years of silver mines When the west was far away Safe from eastern peddlers When the canyon was his own Far from mindless meddlers In his arms, I often listen Sharing every dream he dreamed A summer lover soon to fly Far from where the moonlight gleam ♪ I have often thought of him Riding down the river's heart Living for the plunging waters Prying mysteries apart Is he still alive and smiling Through a hazy waterfall? Sometimes I think it was madness To have left his lonesome call To sail beyond the canyon wall Out to where coyotes call Back when, when I knew it all