Brian Spahr

Confluence

"Confluence” is a love song for Fort Wayne. Not the postcard version. This one is for the muddy waters and mismatched sidewalks, the collision of past and future, the sacred ordinary of rivers that refuse to flow alone.I wrote this song around the image of our city’s three rivers, especially the place where the St. Joe and St. Mary meet to become the Maumee. They come from different places, with different stories, but they don’t fight to stay separate. They merge. They flow on. That felt like a metaphor worth singing about.This song is my offering to the city I call home, where resurrection feels possible, even when hope feels like a long shot.
VERSE 1St. Joe and St. Mary—different rivers, different namesFrom Ohio and from Michigan, they meet up in Fort WayneThey flow with separate currents, carving stories on their banksUntil colliding at a confluence, a whirlpool of graceMuddy waters join in dissonance, but leave in harmonyAnd the two become one river, as the Maumee when they leave
CHORUS 1I stand here at the confluence Where the waters reconcile Making something beautiful Where death gives way to life
VERSE 2Through concrete-covered cobblestones and asphalt tributariesTo the coffee bar slash barbershop on Lafayette and BerryOld ideals still crash like accidents, claiming right of wayThinking we're a dying rust-belt town, one that's long-since had its dayBut I believe in resurrection, even in this Midwest townMuddy waters sing in harmony, and my hope will never drown
CHORUS 2So meet me at the confluence Where the waters reconcile Let’s make something beautiful Where death gives way to lifeTAGI believe in resurrection, even in this Midwest town
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