Some of us turn off the lights and we live
In the moonlight, shooting by
Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark
To be where the angels fly
Pretty maids, all in a row lined up
Outside my cabin door
The only one I've ever wanted wanting me
Was the girl on the Red River shore
Sat by her side, for a while I tried
To make that girl my wife
She gave me her best advice, she said
"Go home and lead a quiet life"
Well, I've been to the east and I've been to the west
And I've been where the black winds roar
Somehow I never got that far
With the girl on the Red River shore
I knew when I first laid eyes on her
That I could never be free
I was falling in every direction that was
I could hear her voice talking to me
Well, the dream dried up a long time ago
Don't know where it is anymore
True to life, true to me
Was the girl on the Red River shore
Well, I'm wearing the cloak of gambling
I've tasted jilted love
The frozen smile upon my face
Hits me like a glove
I can't escape from the memory
Of the one that I'll always adore
Even then, when I was there in the arms
Of the girl on the Red River shore
I'm a stranger here in a strange land
But I know this is where I belong
I'll ramble and gamble for the one I love
And the hills will give me a song
Nothing looks familiar to me
So I know that I've stayed here before
Sometime, a thousand years ago
With the girl on the Red River shore
Well, I went back to see about her once
Went back to straighten it out
Everybody that I knew saw us there
Said they didn't know who I was talking about
Sun went down on me a long time ago
I had to fall back from the door
I wish I could've spent every hour of my life
With the girl on the Red River shore
Well, I've heard of a guy who lived a long time ago
A man full of sorrow and strife
That is somebody around him was dead and died
He knew how to bring 'em on back to life
I don't know what kind of language he used
Or if they do that kind of thing anymore
Sometimes I think that nobody ever saw me here at all
Except the girl on the Red River shore
