The River

I come from down in the valley Where, mister, when you're young They bring you up to do What your daddy done Me and Mary we met in high school When she was just seventeen We'd ride out of this valley Down to where the fields were green We went down to the river And into the river we'd dive Oh, down to the river tonight Then I got Mary pregnant And, man, that was all she wrote And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat We went down to the courthouse And the judge put it all to rest No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle No flowers, no wedding dress That night we went down to the river And into the river we dived Oh, down to the river tonight Oh, down to the river My baby and I Oh, down to the river tonight Well I got a job working construction For the Johnstown Company But lately there ain't been much work On account of the economy Now all those things that seemed so important Well, mister, they vanished right into the air And I act like I don't remember And Mary acts like she don't care But I remember us riding in my brother's car Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir At night, on the banks, I'd lie awake And hold her close just to feel each breath she'd take Those memories come back to haunt me They haunt me like a curse Is a dream a lie if it don't come true Or is it something worse That sends me down to the river Though I know the river is dry Sends me down to the river tonight Down to the river My baby and I Oh, down to the river tonight