In the spring of 1949, that's when I crossed the county line It's there I saw in Seneca Creek A girl named Ruth who washed her feet I told her my name was RC Phares that I'd marry her with half a karat She said, "I do, but no stone can reach the prettiest shine of this here creek" The mud was deep and the roads were wide We'd retreat and then retake the lines Korean winters had torn me down and killed all the boys from my hometown But I'm coming home, Ruth, my dear I got money in my pocket, don't you fear We'll build a life by Seneca Creek You'll have everything you'll ever need Let's build a home by Seneca Creek and raise ourselves a family I'll work on the farm, you work the store We'll have everything we ever hoped for With the top of a mountain above our heads and the roar of Seneca by the bed Seneca Creek ♪ And sure enough, the hard times came You loved those, I did the same We made it through the winter's cold And many summers young and old In '85, the creek did rise but it only took the other side The Gandee, North Fork and South Branch too The house stood still that I built for you In '94, when you got sick, we'd make up trips for the hell of it Take my hand, Ruth, my dear I'll take you back to any year And now you lie on the hill up high Right beneath the mountain sky Seneca Creek sings below Atop the tree sits a lonely crow We built a home by Seneca Creek and raised ourselves a family I worked on the farm, you worked the store We had everything we'd ever hoped for With the top of a mountain above our heads and the roar of Seneca by the bed Seneca Creek