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 17 We'd drive 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-oh, down to the river we'd ride Then I got Mary pregnant And, man, that was all she wrote And for my 19th 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-oh, down to the river we did ride, ay-ay-ay 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'd know the river is dry That sends me down to the river tonight, ay-ay-ay Down to the river My baby and I Oh-oh, down to the river we ride, ay-ay-ay