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 drive on out this valley
Down to where the fields were green
We'd go down to the river
Into the river we'd dive
Down to the river we'd ride
Then I got Mary pregnant
And, mister, that was all she wrote
For my nineteenth birthday
I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
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
Into the river we'd dive
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
All those things that seemed so important, mister
They vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care
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But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tanned 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
Down to the river tonight
Down to the river
My baby and I
Down to the river we ride