The River

I come from down in the valley

Where, mister, when you're young

They bring you up to do

Like 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'd go down to the river

And into the river we'd dive

Oh, down to the river we'd ride

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'd dive

Oh, down to the river we did ride

Yeah, yeah

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 them things that seemed so important

Well, mister, they vanished right into the air

Now I just act like I don't remember

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 them banks, I'd lie awake

And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take

Now 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

That sends me down to the river tonight

Down to the river

My baby and I

Oh, down to the river we ride