Intro : Em G D C Em G C
Em G
I come from down in the valley,
D C2
where mister when you're young
Em G C G
They bring you up to do, like your daddy done
C
Me and Mary we met in high school,
G G/F# Em
when she was just seventeen
Am G C
We'd drive out of this valley, down to where the fields were green
Em C
We'd go down to the river,
D G
and into the river we'd dive
Em C D C2
Oh, down to the river we'd ride
Em G
Then I got Mary pregnant,
D C2
and man that was all she wrote
Em G C G
And for my nineteenth birthday, I got a union card, and a wedding coat
C
We went down to the courthouse,
G G/F# Em
and the judge put it all to rest
Am
No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle,
G C
no flowers, no wedding dress
Em C
That night we went down to the river
D G
and into the river we'd dive
Em C D C2
Oh, down to the river we'd ride
Em G D C Em G C G C G D Em Am G C
Em G D C
I got a job working construction, for the Johnstown Company
Em G C G
But lately there ain't been much work, on account of the economy
C
Now, all them things that seemed so important,
G G/F# Em
well, mister they vanished right into the air
Am
Now I just act like I don't remember;
G C
Mary acts like she don't care
Em G
But I remember us riding in my brother's car,
D C2
her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
Em G
At night on them banks I'd lie awake,
C G
and pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
C Em
Now those memories come back to haunt me,
G G/F# Em
they haunt me like a curse
Am
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true,
G C
or is it something worse?
Em C
That sends me down to the river,
D G
though I know the river is dry
Em C D C
That sends me down to the river tonight
Em C D G
Down to the river, my baby and I,
Em C D C2
oh, down to the river we ride
Em C D G Em C D C
ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh (2x)
