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

We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride

I got a job working construction
For the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work
On account of the economy
All them things that seemed so important
Well they just vanished in the air
And I act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care

And 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 to feel each breath she'd take
Those memories come back to haunt me
Well they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse

And we'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride
Down to the river
My baby and I
Oh down to the river we'd ride

The river we'd ride
The river we'd ride
The river we'd ride