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