[Intro: Roberta Flack]
I'm going down to the river
To lay my burdens down
Going down to the river
To lay my burdens down
And for the first time in my life
For the first time in my life
For the first time in my life, I'll be free
For the first time, I'll be free

[Interlude: Valerie Simpson]
She came home running
Back to the mothering blackness
Deep in the smothering blackness
White tears icicle gold plains of her face
She came home running
She came down creeping
Here to the black arms waiting
Now to the warm heart waiting
Rime of alien dreams befrosts her rich brown face
She came down creeping
She came home blameless
Black yet as Hagar's daughter
Tall as was Sheba's daughter
Threats of northern winds die on the desert's face
She came home blameless
She came home blameless
[Outro: Roberta Flack]
For the first time in my life
For the first time in my life, I'll be free