I’ve Got Peace Like a River is an African-American spiritual. Spirituals began on the fields and the slaves would sing to pass the time of day. It was also a great way to pass messages along and share the gospel.This song uses water “as a simile” to describe peace, joy and love.source: Diana Leagh Matthews http://dianaleaghmatthews.com/ive-got-peace-like-river/Lyrics:1 I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river,I've got peace like a river in my soul.I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river,I've got peace like a river in my soul.2 I've got love like a river,I've got love like a river,I've got love like a river in my soul.I've got love like a river,I've got love like a river,I've got love like a river in my soul3 I've got joy like a river,I've got joy like a river,I've got joy like a river in my soul.I've got joy like a river,I've got joy like a river,I've got joy like a river in my soul.