I've been watching the man at the bar with his head in his hands And I think to myself, I was just like you I can see there are times in your life When it's way too much for you The battles you wear Are the armor you choose When I first feel my lungs in the morning I try to remember to say a quiet, thank you And if I rise with a weight in my heart I like to play myself A sweet little joke And I feel those cool rivers Washing over me And I know these smooth rhythms Make me move my feet Oh, you give me those soul shivers Taking me back to the days When music was a life giver Make a bad man change his ways Cool rivers, those soul shivers I can feel those smooth rhythms Make a bad man change, a bad man change his ways I've seen men who sleep at the side of the road With a smile upon their face I heard old men sing with youth in their voice When that old time record plays I seen young boys learning their first steps To the sound of those drum breaks And I heard the sound of the company Of some of the many first mistakes Still I feel those cool rivers Washing over me And I know these smooth rhythms Make me move my feet Oh, you give me those soul shivers Taking me back to the days When music was a life giver Make a bad man change his ways Oh, I see those cool rivers The soul shivers I can feel those smooth rhythms Make a bad man change, a bad man change his ways Oh, I see those cool rivers