[Verse 1]I come from down in the valleyWhere, mister, when you're youngThey bring you up to doLike your daddy doneMe and Mary, we met in high schoolWhen she was just seventeenWe'd ride out of this valleyDown to where the fields were green[Chorus]We'd go down to the riverAnd into the river we'd diveOh, down to the river we'd ride[Verse 2]Then I got Mary pregnantAnd, man, that was all she wroteAnd for my nineteenth birthdayI 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[Chorus]That night we went down to the riverAnd into the river we'd diveOh, down to the river we did rideYeah, yeah[Verse 3]I got a job working constructionFor the Johnstown CompanyBut lately there ain't been much workOn 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[Bridge]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 those memories come back to haunt meThey haunt me like a curseIs a dream a lie if it don't come trueOr is it something worse?[Chorus]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 IOh, down to the river we ride
