I come from down the valley 
where mister when you're young
they bring you up to do
just like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in hight school 
when she was juste seventeen
We'd drive out of this valley 
down to where the fields where green

We'd gone down to the river 
and into the river we'd dive
Ohooo 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 an union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the court house 
and the juge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles 
no walk down the ails
no flowers, no wedding dress

That right we went down to the river 
and into the river we'd dive
ohooo down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction 
for the Johnston compagny
but lately there ain't been much work
on account of the economy
Now 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 tan and wet
down at the reservoir
at night in 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
thought I know the river is dry
down to the river tonight
down to the river my baby and I
ohooo down to the river we ride