Lyrics
Come listen and I'll tell a tale of hearty canyoneers
That breed of men, the river rats who live without the fears
Of common ordinary men whose worries sure are small
Compared to those who flirt with death within that high gray wall
What's in a man to make him thirst for the kind of life he knows is cursed
He'll die a lowly river rat, fool-hardy canyoneer
Do you ever wonder what you'd do when all the chips were down
If you doubt you'd do what a man would do when danger comes around
Then take the test to prove the case to see if courage calls
As waves leap 30 feet or more on the trip through lava falls
What's in a man to make him thirst for the kind of life he knows is cursed
He'll die a lowly river rat, fool-hardy canyoneer
At night it rests on a rocky beach, he hears a hairy sigh
Of the lonely phantom of the gorge whose mournful voices cry
"Although we ran the rapids well and with our lives did pay
We welcome you, you canyoneers who come this dismal way"
What's in a man to make him thirst for the kind of life he knows is cursed
He'll die a lowly river rat, fool-hardy canyoneer