Laos – one of the poorest and least developed of the Mekong nations. It’s a country shaped by both Buddhism and Communism. The Mekong River with Sue Perkins III
What about those upstream for whom fundamental and profound change is coming? ibid.
There are ten more dams planned for Laos alone and 140 either commissioned or under construction for the Mekong and its tributaries. ibid.
I’ve reached China and the source of this mighty river. It carves its way through China’s wildest and most spectacular valleys. The Mekong River with Sue Perkins IV
‘Oh, Eeyore, you are wet!’ said Piglet, feeling him.
Eeyore shook himself, and asked somebody to explain to Piglet what happened when you had been inside a river for quite a long time. A A Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. Leonardo da Vinci
The Missouri is, perhaps, different in appearance and character from all other rivers in the world; there is a terror in its manner which is sensibly felt, the moment we enter its muddy waters from the Mississippi. George Catlin
Well, it seems all the fish in the rivers are dying. Could this be an Act of Cod? Colin Mochrie
And see the rivers how they run
Through woods and meads, in shade and sun,
Sometimes swift, sometimes slow,—
Wave succeeding wave, they go
A various journey to the deep,
Like human life to endless sleep! John Dyer, Grongar Hill
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals. Christopher Marlowe, The Passionate Shepherd
From Stirling Castle we had seen
The mazy Forth unravelled;
Had trod the banks of Clyde and Tay,
And with the Tweed had travelled;
And when we came to Clovenford,
Then said, My winsome marrow,
Whate’er betide, we’ll turn aside,
And see the braes of Yarrow. William Wordsworth, Yarrow Unvisited
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will.
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still! William Wordsworth, Sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,
Flow gently, I’ll sing thee a song in thy praise. Robert Burns, Flow Gently, Sweet Afton
Ayr, gurgling, kissed his pebbled shore,
O’erhung with wild woods, thickening green;
The fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar
Twined amorous round the raptured scene. Robert Burns, To Mary in Heaven
Ye banks and braes o’ bonny Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair;
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary fu’ o’ care! Robert Burns, The Banks o’ Doon
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree.
Where Alph, the sacred river ran,
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834, Kubla Khan
And Potomac flowed calmly, scarce heaving her breast,
With her low-lying billows all bright in the west,
For a charm as from God lulled the waters to rest
Of the fair rolling river. Paul Hamilton Hayne, Beyond the Potomac
Is it not better, then, to be alone,
And love Earth only for its earthly sake?
By the blue rushing of the arrowy Rhone
Or the pure bosom of its nursing lake. Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, canto III
Thou Royal River, born of sun and shower
In chambers purple with the Alpine glow,
Wrapped in the spotless ermine of the snow
And rocked by tempests! Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, To the River Rhone
Way down upon de Swanee Ribber,
Far, far away,
Dere’s whar ma heart am turning ebber,
Dere’s whar de old folks stay.
All up and down de whole creation,
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for de old plantation,
And for de old folks at home. Stephen Collins Foster, Old Folks at Home, (Swanee Ribber)
Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears
Into the channel, till the lowest stream
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all. William Shakespeare, Julius Cæsar I i 63
You want to talk about the vanishing wilderness? … They’re drowning the river. They’re drowning the river, man. Just about the last wild untamed unpolluted un-fucked-up river in the South. Deliverance 1972 starring Jon Voight & Burt Reynolds & Ned Beatty & Ronny Cox & Ed Ramey & Billy Redden & Bill McKinney & Herbert Cowboy Coward & James Dickey & Macon McCalman et al, director John Boorman, opening commentary
Egypt exists because of this one river. Omar Sharif
Earth’s great rivers from source to sea make extraordinary journeys, carving through continents, nurturing ancient civilisation, feeding and connecting life across our world, from the mountains and deserts of the Nile to the cities and mysterious swamps of the Mississippi and the steaming waters and secrets worlds of the tropic Amazon. Great rivers are the lifeblood of planet Earth. Earth’s Great Rivers I: Amazon, BBC 2018
One river dwarfs all others – the biggest on the planet – the Amazon. It flows through nine countries across one third of South America sustaining the largest rain forest on Earth, supporting the world’s greatest diversity of wildlife. ibid.
All around is the sound of the Amazon coming to Life. The Amazon is the greatest river basin in the world – gathering water from right across tropical South America, amassing one fifth of the Earth’s fresh water as it flows east across the continent. ibid.
Giant river otters – some nearly two metres long … It takes three years for an otter cub to master the complexities of fishing in these rivers. ibid.
These upper reaches are home to legendary river monsters – electric eels capable of generating more than five hundred volts. ibid.
Ocean-going ships can sail over 2,000 miles inland. ibid.
Every year in November the tropical wet season sweeps in. ibid.
Pink river dolphins … the largest river dolphins in the world. ibid.
An enormous algal reef more than six hundred miles long. And that’s not all – an underwater garden of giant sponges. ibid.
One river stretches further than any other on the planet – the Nile, travelling all the way from the equator across north Africa to the Mediterranean … A river that gave rise to great civilisations. Earth’s Great Rivers II: Nile, BBC 2018
A world of equatorial lakes in the heart of Africa. The greatest of all is called Victoria, a lake almost the size of Ireland, so vast that water is trapped here for an average of 23 years before continuing its journey. ibid.
One of the most powerful waterfalls in the world. ibid.
The Nile enters the land of the giants. ibid.
In South Sudan the land flattens and the River transforms into a swamp the size of England. ibid.
No other animal seems to celebrate the Nile’s waters as much as the elephant. ibid.
As the Blue Nile leaves its sacred beginnings, it transports its rich waters across Ethiopia. Its banks are some of the most fertile land in Africa. ibid.
They [Egyptians] called the Nile the Mother of all Men. ibid.
The massive, muddy Mississippi, the heart and soul of America’s deep south. The river has inspired writers and musicians for generations. It’s the familiar face of the Mississippi known the world over. Yet this is in fact just the last stretch of a truly vast river system. The Mississippi is an enormous network of waterways; it reaches into 31 states gathering water for nearly half the USA. Earth’s Great Rivers III: Mississippi
Winter is especially hard for Yellowstone’s Cayotes. ibid.