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River’s InvitationAretha Franklin

Songwriter: Percy Mayfield

Producer: Tom Dowd Jerry Wexler

[Verse 1]
I've been all across the country
And I've stayed in every town
You see, I'm trying to find my baby
And he ain't nowhere around, I can't understand it
You know which way I'm heading, if my baby can’t be found
Oh yeah

[Verse 2]
Well, I spoke to the river
And the river, the river spoke back to me
It said, "Oh! You look so lonely, and so much full of misery
Yes, you do now
If you can't find your baby
Come on, girl, and make your home with me, oh yeah"

[Break]

[Verse 3]
I don't want to leave him
No, I know, I know he’s still alive
And someday, I'm going to find him
And he's gonna take me for a ride - yes, he will now
And then we'll live forever and ever and ever
Forever and ever among the tides
Oh, yes, we will

[Outro]
Just in case I don't find him, I'm going to take that river's invitation
River's invitation
Oh, oh, the river! Oh, oh, the river
Oh, the river, yeah, oh, river's invitation
Yeah, the river

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known simply by her first Aretha. She is the reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” with a legacy that spans five decades. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Aretha began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Aretha embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records with modest success.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, she released a steady string of US top ten hits through 1973 including “Spanish Harlem”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Baby I Love You”, “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Daydreaming”, “The House That Jack Built”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", ”Think“ and her first chart-topper “Respect” – a song that also won Aretha her first of 18 Grammys. During this time, several of her songs were also successful overseas.

By the mid-70s, Aretha’s commercial success waned and she left Atlantic for Clive Davis' Arista Records in 1980. Her 1982 song “Jump to It,” returned her to the top 40 for the first time in six years. 1985’s Who’s Zoomin' Who? got her back into the top 10 twice with its title track and “Freeway Of Love”. Four more songs reached the top 40 through 1986.

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