The River

 The River - Bruce Springsteen

Written by Bruce Springsteen

Am = X02210
C = X32010
D = XX0232
Em = 022000
G = 320003

Em G D C  Em G C

  Em                    G
I come from down in the valley,
      D                  C
where mister when you're young
     Em              G   C               G
They bring you up to do, like your daddy done
       C
Me and Mary we met in high school,
     G            D    Em
when she was just seventeen
     Am                                G                     C
We'd drive out of this valley, 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
    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                       C                   G
And for my nineteenth birthday, I got a union card, and a wedding coat
   C
We went down to the courthouse,
        G            D      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
    Em          C          D C
Oh, down to the river we'd ride

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

        Em                     G
But I remember us riding in my brother's car,
         D                       C
her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
   Em                      G
At night on them banks I'd lie awake,
             C                       G
and pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
          C                     Em
Now those memories come back to haunt me,
     G        D      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
              Em          C       D   C
That sends me down to the river   D        G
Down to the river, my baby and I,
    Em          C        D  C
oh, down to the river we ride


Em  C   D   G     Em  C   D   C
ooh ooh ooh ooh   ooh ooh ooh ooh  2x

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