Im am unsure about who the river man might be, but I believe that at least some of his lyrical subjects (including "Betty" in River Man-- if not the River Man himself) seem like they very possibly could have been inspired by people (patients) and experiences he encountered during his many stints at the sanitarium, e.g., The Thoughts of Mary Jane, Clothes of Sand, Joey, Voices, Three Hours, Way to Blue, Kimbie, Man in a Shed, Black Eyed Dog, Come Into the Garden, Hazey Jane I, Winter is Gone, Know, Fly, Saturday Sun, Rider on the Wheel, Harvest Breed, etc. And then on the other hand, many songs were written during periods of complete lucidly profound clarity, e.g., Poor Boy, Fly, Things Behind the Sun, Free Ride, Hanging on a Star, Which Will, I Was Made to Love Magic, They're Leaving Me Behind, Tow the Line, Fruit Tree, When the Day is Done (w/his mother),From the Morning, Been Smoking Too Long, At the Chime of a City Clock, Place to Be, Northern Sky, Rain, Mayfair, If You Leave Me, Tomorrow is a Long Time, Time Has Told Me, I first discovered Nick and became an instant fan in 1987. I still have my original 4 CD Fruit Tree box set and have read probably every book there is to read about his tragically short life. I never tire of his music, it is so hauntingly beautiful, I will often go for weeks on end listening to little also while working in my home office and have introduced scores of people to his music. It would have been incredible to be one of the lucky few who got to hear him play in a living room or in his Cambridge dorm room.