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 drive 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 19th 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
( * )
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
( * )