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The River

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Eminor

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The Clarks
The River
*Appears on the album Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen*
*Originally written by Bruce Springsteen*
[Intro]
Em   G   D   C   Am   G   C
[Verse 1]
EmI come from down in the Gvalley
Where Dmister when you're Cyoung
They Embring you up to Gdo, CLike your daddy Gdone
Me and CMary we met in high school,
GShe was just D/F#seventeeEmn
We'd Amdrive out of this valley
Down to Gwhere the fields were Cgreen
[Chorus 1]
We'd go Emdown to the Criver
And Dinto the river we'd Gdive
D/F#Oh dowEmn to the Criver we'd DrideC  
[Verse 2]
Then EmI got Mary Gpregnant and Dman that was all she Cwrote
And Emfor my nineteenth Gbirthday I got a union Ccard and a wedding Gcoat
We Cwent down to the courthouse and the Gjudge put it D/F#all to rEmest
No wAmedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No Gflowers no wedding Cdress
[Chorus 2]
We'd go Emdown to the Criver
And Dinto the river we'd Gdive
D/F#Oh dowEmn to the Criver we'd DrideC  
[Guitar Solo]
Em   G   D   C
Em   G   C   G
C        G  D/F#  Em
Am       G   C
[Verse 3]
I Emgot a job working construcGtion for the JDohnstown CompanyC  
But Emlately there ain't been Gmuch work on acCcount of the economyG  
Now Call those things that seemed so important
Well Gthey just D/F#vanished in the Emair
And I Amact like I don't remember, Mary aGcts like she don't cCare
And I rEmemember us riding in my Gbrother's car
Her body Dtan and wet down by the Creservoir
At Emnight on them banks I'd Glie awake
And pull her Cclose to feel each Gbreath she'd take
Those Cmemories come back to haunt me, well they Ghaunt me D/F#like a Emcurse
Is a Amdream a lie if it don't come true
Or Gis it something Cworse
[Chorus 3]
And We'd go Emdown to the Criver
And Dinto the river we'd Gdive
D/F#Oh dowEmn to the Criver we'd DrideG  
EmDown to the Criver my Dbaby and GI
D/F#Oh dowEmn to the Criver we'd DrideG  
  Em     G      D                  C    Em    G    C    G    Em    G    D   Cx2 
Yeah Yeah Yeah the river we'd ride
Charted by Joshua Ballas

All chords in this song (6)

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The River

by The Clarks

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

D/F#

The Clarks

The River

*Appears on the album Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen*

*Originally written by Bruce Springsteen*

[Intro]

Em G D C Am G C

[Verse 1]

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

Me and Mary we met in high school,

G D/F# Em

She was just seventeen

We'd drive out of this valley

G C

Down to where the fields were green

[Chorus 1]

Em C

We'd go down to the river

D G

And into the river we'd dive

D/F# Em C D C

Oh down to the river we'd ride

[Verse 2]

Em G D C

Then I got Mary pregnant 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 G D/F# Em

We went down to the courthouse and the judge put it all to rest

No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle

G C

No flowers no wedding dress

[Chorus 2]

Em C

We'd go down to the river

D G

And into the river we'd dive

D/F# Em C D C

Oh down to the river we'd ride

[Guitar Solo]

Em G D C

Em G C G

C G D/F# Em

Am G C

[Verse 3]

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

Now all those things that seemed so important

G D/F# Em

Well they just vanished in the air

Am G C

And I act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care

Em G

And I remember us riding in my brother's car

D C

Her body tan and wet down by the reservoir

Em G

At night on them banks I'd lie awake

C G

And pull her close to feel each breath she'd take

C G D/F# Em

Those memories come back to haunt me, well they haunt me like a curse

Is a dream a lie if it don't come true

G C

Or is it something worse

[Chorus 3]

Em C

And We'd go down to the river

D G

And into the river we'd dive

D/F# Em C D G

Oh down to the river we'd ride

Em C D G

Down to the river my baby and I

D/F# Em C D G

Oh down to the river we'd ride

Em G D C Em G C G Em G D C

Yeah Yeah Yeah the river we'd ride

Charted by Joshua Ballas

About The River Chords by The Clarks

Learn how to play The River by The Clarks with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “The River chords”, “The River guitar chords”, or “The Clarks The River chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy The River chords and for experienced players who want accurate The River lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include A, Em, G, D, C, Am.

FAQ — The River by The Clarks

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The chords for "The River" show the original chord names (including A, Em, G, D, C, Am). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.