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