I come from down in the valley
Where, mister, when you are young
They bring you up to do it
Just like your dad had done

Well, me and Mary we met in high school
And she was just seventeen
We'd ride out of this valley
Into 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

And I got Mary pregnant
And man, that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday
I got a union card and wеdding coat

We went down to the courthousе
When the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle
No flowers or wedding dress

That night we went down to the water
And into the river we dived
Ooh, down to the river we'd ride
I got a job working construction
For the Johnstown Company
Well, lately there ain't been much work
On account of the economy

Woah all them things that seemed so important
Well, mister, they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
And Mary acts like she don't care

But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tender, tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
I'd pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take

And those memories come back to haunt me
Yeah, they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream alive if it don't come true
Or is it something worse?

That sends me down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh, down to the river we'd ride
Down to the river
Though I know that the river is dry
Oh, down to the river we'd ride