Painting that tell a story: writing exercise

River- Song by Bill Staines

River

I was born in the path of the winter wind
And          1             (to raise) where the mountains are old.
Their springtime waters         2           (to come) dancing down,
I              3                    (to remember)  the tales they told

The whistling ways of my younger days
Too         4        (quick) have faded on by
But all of their memories              5           (to linger on)
Like light in the fading sky.

River take me along in your sunshine,
sing me your song ever moving and winding and free
You are rolling old river,
You      6             (to change) old river,
Let's you and me, river, run down to the sea.

Well, I've been to the city and I've been back again,
I've been moved by some things that I've learned,
Met a lot of good people and I've called them friends,
Felt the change when the seasons turned.

I've heard all the songs that the children sing,

And I've listened to love's melodies
I've felt my own music within me rise
Like the wind in the autumn trees

River, Take me along...

Some day when the flowers are blooming still,
Some day when the grass       7         (to be) still green,
My rolling waters will round the bend
And       8       (to flow)  into the open sea.

So here    9         (to be) to the rainbow that has followed me here,
And here's to the friends that       10           (to know),
And here            11          (to be) to the song that's within me now,
I            12         (to sing) it where ere I go.

River take me along...

Words and music by Bill Staines,
© 1978 Mineral River music/BMI) (administered by BUG Music.)
1) Fill in the number blanks with the correct word form 2)What is the subject of the song? (vocab graph) 3) Who do you think wrote this song? Profile. Why?  (come back to question at the end) 4)Can you find any similes, metaphors or comparisons? If so, where?  5) What tenses are used?   6) Pick one or two lines in the song that you like and explain why. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJiEsiO9ZRI
Picture is the Jordan River