The River
I come from down in the valleyWhere mister, when you're youngThey bring you up to do it like your daddy doneMe and Mary we met in high schoolWhen she was just seventeenWe'd drive out of this valley down to where the fields were green
We'd go down to the riverAnd into the river we'd diveOh down to the river we'd ride
Then I got Mary pregnantAnd "Man!" that was all she wroteAnd for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coatWe went down to the courthouseAnd the judge put it all to restNo wedding day smiles no walk down the aisleNo flowers no wedding dress
We went down to the riverAnd into the river we'd diveOh down to the river we'd ride
I got a job working construction for the Johnstown CompanyBut lately there ain't been no work on account of the economyNow all them things that seemed so importantWell mister they vanished right into the airNow I just act like I don't rememberMary acts like she don't care
But I remember us riding in my brother's carHer body tan and wet down at the reservoirAt night on them banks I'd lie awakeAnd pull her close just to feel each breath she'd takeNow the memories come back to haunt meThey haunt me like a curseIs a dream a lie if it don't come true?Or is it something worse,That sends me down to the riverThough I know the river is dryThat sends me down to the river tonightDown to the riverMy baby and I