The River – Bruce Springsteen

I come from down in the valley
Where mister, when you're young
They bring you up to do
Like your daddy done
Me and Mary, we met in high school
When she was just seventeen
We'd ride out of this valley
Down to 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

Then I got Mary pregnant
And man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday
I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
And the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles, 
no walk down the aisle
No flowers, no wedding dress

That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction
For the Johnstown Company
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
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 on 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
Though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight

Down to the river
My baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride

Intro
Em | G | D | C | Am | G | C |

   Em                                       G       
I come from down in the valley   
                D                               C
Where mister, when you're young
           Em                     G 
They bring you up to do 
 C                           G
like your daddy done
                C                   
Me and Mary we met in high school  
             G                   G/F#   Em
When she was just seventeen
          Am                         
We'd drive out of this valley 
                   G                                    C
down to where the fields were green
 
                 Em                C     
We'd go down to the river 
         D                               G
And into the river we'd dive
G/F#  Em               C                D        C
Oh   down to the river we’d ride
 
        Em                      G    
Then I got Mary pregnant  
          D                                    C
And man, that was all she wrote
       Em                      G
And for my 19th birthday 
                          C                                 G
I got a union card and a wedding coat
          C                           
We went down to the courthouse  
                 G               G/F#  Em
And the judge put it all to rest
         Am
No wedding day smiles, 
no walk down the aisle
            G                               C
No flowers, no wedding dress

                                      Em                   C
That night we went down to the river
          D                              G
And into the river we'd dive
G/F#  Em                C                   D      C
Oh   down to the river we did ride

Solo:
| Em  | G   | D   | C   |
| Em  | G   | C   | G   |
| C     | C   | G  G/F#  Em |
| Am  | Am  | G   | C   |

  Em                                    G   
I got a job working construction 
                   D                    C
for the Johnstown Company
         Em                                  G      
But lately there ain't been much work 
          C                       G
on account of the economy
          C
Now all them things 
that seemed so important
                      G       
Well mister they vanished 
G/F#             Em
right into the air
                    Am                    
Now I just act like I don't remember   
            G                               C
Mary acts like she don't care

             Em           
But I remember us riding 
               G  
in my brother's car   
                   D
Her body tan and wet down at
            C         
the reservoir    
      Em                                     G
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
                         C    
And pull her close just to feel 
              G
each breath she'd take
                          C
Now those memories come back 
to haunt me
            G            G/F#    Em
They haunt me like a curse
          Am
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true    
      G                          C 
Or is it something worse

                             Em                  C        
That sends me down to the river   
                   D                          G
Though I know the river is dry
           G/F#          Em                C         D      C
That sends me down to the river tonight
 Em                  C            D           G
Down to the river my baby and I
G/F#            Em                 C        D
Sends me down to the river tonight, 
                C
aye aye aye     
 
Ooh... Ooh...  Ooh...
Em  C  D  G  G/F#  Em  C  D  C
Em  C  D  G  G/F#  Em  C  D  C

Em