The River (Live)

Bruce Springsteen - 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 seventeen

We'd drive outta this valley down to where the fields were 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 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'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride

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 know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
My baby and I

Oh down to the river we ride...