The River

   Am          C          G  
I come from down in the valley, 
         F
where mister when you're young
  Am           C   F          C
They bring you up to do like your 
daddy done
   F                    C       G
Me and Mary we met in high 
    Am
school, when she was just seventeen
   Dm                      C      
We'd ride out of that valley down 
       F
to where the fields were green
     Am       F       G          
We'd go down to the river, And 
    C
into the river we'd dive
  Am       F       G   A
Oh down to the river we'd ride
   Am        C       G            
Then I got Mary pregnant, And man 
 F
that was all she wrote
     Am          C              F
And for my nineteenth birthday I 
            C
got a union card and a wedding coat
  F                      C    G  
We went down to the courthouse, 
     Am
And the judge put it all to rest
   Dm                            C
No wedding day smiles no walk down
             F
 in the aisle, No flowers no wedding
 dress
            Am      F        
That night we went down to the 
G              C
river, And into the river we'd dive
 Am         F        G   F
On down to the river we did ride
  Am              C             G
I got a job working construction 
        F
for the Johnstown Company
    Am                   C     F 
But lately there ain't been much 
       C
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                  
Now I just act like I don't 
     C           F
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   
Now those memories come back to 
       Am
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           
Down to the river though I know the 
C
river is dry
        Am      F   G
That sends me down to the river 
tonight
Am        F      G     C    Am
Down to the river, My baby and
       F     G
 I, Oh down the river we'd ride
 Am    F
oh oh oh oh oh oh "The exact amount 
of oohing depends on version"