There's a house down by the riverbend They call the Lantern's Glow It's broken hearts a thousand times And mine is one, I know My mama worked her weary hands She stitched the cloth with care My father lost his waking hours To cards and smoke-filled air The only prize the drifter holds Is a pack and ragged coat And the only peace he ever finds Is drowning in his throat So mothers guard your daughters And fathers guide your sons Keep them far from hunger's pit And the shadows of Crescent Street The only prize the drifter holds Is a pack and ragged coat And the only peace he ever finds Is drowning in his throat Now one boot's on the platform edge The other on the train It pulls me back to Crescent Street To wear that chain again The only prize the drifter holds Is a pack and ragged coat And the only peace he ever finds Is drowning in his throat There's a house down by the riverbend They call the Lantern's Glow It swallowed up the best of me And mine is one, I know