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 out of that 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 nineteenth 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 went 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, they vanished right into the air
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 tanned and wet down at the reservoir
At night on those banks I'd lie awake, pull her close just to feel every breath she'd take
Now those memories come back to haunt me, yeah, 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, oh, I know the river is dry
Sends me down to the river tonight
Yeah, down to the river, my baby and I
Whoa, down to the river we ride