[Scree is defined as "a steep mass of detritus [ie rocky debris] on the side of a mountain". This word does not seem to be very commonly used in American English, supported by the fact that the editor had to consult an older desk dictionary to find a definition.]
Struggling down the slope,
There's not much hope.
I begin to try to ride the scree,
but the rocks are tumbling all around me.
If I want John alive,
I've got to ditch my fear -- take a dive,
While I've still got my drive to survive.
Evel Knievel, you got nothing on me.
[Knievel is a daredevil who performed dangerous stunts for money and recognition. He was popular in the 1970s, when the Lamb was written, and was more of a cultural icon then than now.]
Here I go!
He dives down into the cold water. At first he is thrown onto the rocks, and pulled under the water by a fast moving channel, which takes him right past John, down river.
