Intro :
I come from down in the valley,
where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do, like your dadd y done
Me and Mary we met in high school,
when she was just seven teen
We'd drive out of this valley, down to where the fields wer e 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 unio n card, and a weddi ng coat
We went down to the courthouse,
and the judge put i t 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' d ride
I got a job working co nstruction, for th e Johnstown Co mpany
But lately there ain't been much work, on account of the ec onomy
Now, all them things that seemed so important,
well, mister they vanished right into the a ir
Now I just act like I don't remember;
Mary acts like she don't ca re
But I re member 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 toni ght
Down to the river, m y baby a nd I,
oh, down to the river w e ride
ooh o oh o oh o oh ooh o oh o oh o oh (2x)