"When the River Meets the Sea" is a song written by composer and lyricist Paul Williams for Jim Henson's 1977 TV special ''

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas ''Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas'' is a 1977 television special directed by Jim Henson, based on the 1971 Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (book), children's book of the same name by Russell Hoban. The special features an ensemble cast of Hens ...

''. Emmet Otter, the title character, and his mother, Alice Otter sang this song together. The song was later sung by

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

and

Robin the Frog The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...

on the 1979 album '' John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together''. Though written for one Christmas story and featured in another, the lyrics are not holiday-related, but symbolic of death as a peaceful transition to an

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

. The song was performed by Jerry Nelson (the puppeteer of both Emmet Otter and

) and

Louise Gold Louise Gold (born 1956) is an English puppeteer, actress and singer whose career has spanned more than four decades. She is best known for her work as a puppeteer on television and for roles in musical theatre in the West End. Gold was raised ...

at Henson's memorial service in New York on May 21, 1990.

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

, over 21 years later, (this time, being performed by Matt Vogel) sang this song with

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

and his Uncle Kermit ( Steve Whitmire) on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

''.

External links

1977 songs The Muppets songs Songs written by Paul Williams (songwriter) {{1970s-song-stub