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RiverSam Smith

Released: November 29, 2017

Songwriter: Joni Mitchell

Producer: Brendan Grieves Sam Smith

[Verse 1]
It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on
But it don't snow here, it stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

[Chorus]
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I made my baby cry

[Verse 2]
He tried hard to help me
You know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty
Made me weak in the knees
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I'm so hard to handle
I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've gone and lost the best baby that I ever had
I wish I had a river I could skate away on

[Chorus]
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I made my baby say goodbye

[Outro]
It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Sam Smith

Sam Smith was born on 19th May 1992 and grew up in a rural village on the border of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, the nearest town being Bishops Stortford. They’re the oldest of three siblings and are said to be close to their younger sisters. Their mother is a successful City of London trader and their father a stay-at-home dad who brought up the children.

Smith showed an early talent for singing, and their parents responded by arranging singing lessons from the age of eight with professional jazz singer and songwriter, Joanna Eden. At the early age of seventeen, they left school to pursue their dream, living in a small one-bed flat and working in a London pub, but ended up isolated and beset by loneliness.

Sam knew they were gay, they said, for as long as they could remember. They suffered bullying at school and were shocked to find that even in London—close to gay communities—they were subjected to homophobic attacks. These negative experiences, combined with an inherently emotional nature, inform their songwriting and delivery. The soulful, beautifully rich tone of their voice and the subject of the lyrics ‘speak’ to many people and have led to their success.

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