The Riverv6

(words and music by Bruce Springsteen)

{c:HARMONICA INTRO}

[em] . . . . |[[G]] . . . . |[[D]] . . . . |[[C]] . . . . |

[em] . . . . |[[G]] . . . . |[[C]] . . . . | . . . . |

I [em]come from down in the [[G]]valley

Where [[D]]mister when you're [[C]]young

They [em]bring you up to [[G]]do [[C]]like your daddy [[G]]done

Me and [[C]]Mary we met in high school

When [[G]]she was just [[D]]seven[em]teen

We'd [am]drive out of this valley down to [[G]]where the fields were [[C]]green

We'd go [em]down to the [[C]]river

And [[D]]into the river we'd [[G]]dive

Oh [em]down to the [[C]]river we'd [[D]]ri[[C]]de

Then [em]I got Mary [[G]]pregnant

And [[D]]man that was all she [[C]]wrote

And [em]for my nineteenth [[G]]birthday I got a union [[C]]card and a wedding [[G]]coat

We [[C]]went down to the courthouse

And the [[G]]judge put it [[D]]all to [em]rest

No [am]wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle

No [[G]]flowers, no wedding [[C]]dress

That night we went [em]down to the [[C]]river

And [[D]]into the river we'd [[G]]dive

Oh [em]down to the [[C]]river we did [[D]]ri[[C]]de

[em] . . . . |[[G]] . . . . |[[D]] . . . . |[[C]] . . . . |

[em] . . . . |[[G]] . . . . |[[C]] . . . . |[[G]] . . . . |

[[C]] . . . . | . . . . |[[G]] . . [[D]] . . |[em] . . . . |

[am] . . . . | . . . . |[[G]] . . . . |[[C]] . . . . |

I [em]got a job working con[[G]]struction for the [[D]]Johnstown Compa[[C]]ny

But [em]lately there ain't been [[G]]much work on ac[[C]]count of the econo[[G]]my

Now [[C]]all them things that seemed so important

Well mister they [[G]]vanished right [[D]]into the [em]air

Now I just [am]act like I don't remember

Mary [[G]]acts like she don't [[C]]care

But I re[em]member us riding in my [[G]]brother's car

Her body [[D]]tan and wet down at the [[C]]reservoir

At [em]night on them banks I'd [[G]]lie awake

And pull her [[C]]close just to feel each [[G]]breath she'd take

Now those [[C]]memories come back to haunt me

They [[G]]haunt me [[D]]like a [em]curse

Is a [am]dream a lie if it don't come true

Or [[G]]is it something [[C]]worse,

That sends me [em]down to the [[C]]river

Though I [[D]]know the river is [[G]]dry

That sends me [em]down to the [[C]]river to[[D]]ni[[C]]ght

[em]Down to the [[C]]river

My [[D]]baby and [[G]]I

Oh [em]down to the [[C]]river we [[D]]ri[[C]]de

{c:FADE OUT}

[em] . . . . |[[C]] . . . . |[[D]] . . . . |[[G]] . . . . |

[em] . . . . |[[C]] . . . . |[[D]] . . . . |[[C]] . . . . :|

{st:© 1979 Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)}

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