Bruce Springsteen - The River

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
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

[Chorus]
We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh, down to the river we'd ride

[Verse 2]
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

[Chorus]
That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh, down to the river we did ride
Ah-yah

[Harmonica Solo]

[Verse 3]
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
And Mary acts like she don't care

[Verse 4]
But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tanned 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?

[Chorus]
That sends me down to the river
Though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Ah-yah-yah
Down to the river
My baby and I
Oh, down to the river we ride
Ah-yah-ay

[Outro]
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh

Bruce Springsteen the river on hieno biisi ❤

Who's still listening on January 1st in 2025 ?

Best of Springsteen, right here.

The River, it's the symbol of the life that we have imagined when we were young which has never could be realized

This song kills me. It's so horribly true to life. The bitter-sweetness of it is pure poetry.

My wife is getting tired of me singing this song, every day, all day.

Thou song shall be so exquisitely sad, My heart feels destined to meet God. I will be kept afloat, to relax, to breathe, to see, to hear, to breathe, it's a blessing. Play Club Stellar.

"ls a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" An immortal line!

What makes this song so heartbreaking to me is its realism. There are still young people who made a mistake when they were young and pay for the consequences for the rest of their lives.
And why? The rest of us doesn't care enough to help them, but we do go about how beautiful this song is, without even properly listening to it.

Who's listening to this masterpiece? ❤️ You all!!!

we use to talk about Bruce's songs but specially about this one with my little brother who passed so young for a car accident.

I hear this song and I remember him.

C'est un chef d'œuvre cette chanson elle est vraiment international tout le monde peut se l approprié

Probably up there in his top 5 song's of all time in my opinion

I cry my eyes out to this song. Such a raw expression of working class angst. Springsteen is one of a kind

This is basically my life 2021. Young 30s, veteran, two kids, wifr is stay at home mom, I'm in a union as a welder, looking like a strike is coming within a month. I'm a veteran who's slightly old fashioned but a young hard working father who's trying to lead a hard working life to support his family and wants to raise his family with good values that are down to earth. "Weak men create hard times, hard times create hard men, hard me create east times, easy times create weak men, weak men create hard times." I'm doing my best to represent the hard working prideful American man/father. Let's all represent that and show what we're worth.

Man! I just listened , LISTENED, to this song properly for the first time, and realized what a sad, soulful masterpiece this is! And it honestly gave me goosebumps and almost made me cry. A maudlin song about when life doesnt turn out the way you were hoping for❤️

I wish a lot of classic rock radio stations will play this song because this is great Bruce Springsteen song. I love it🎧

I’ve seen my dad cry twice in my life. Once when his dad died, and the other time when he listened to this song. I didn’t understand then. I understand now.

You feel like crying just after 2 seconds of the starting harmonica ....

Springsteen is like Tolstoy. He doesn't write a work of art, he writes a work of life.

This song reminds me of the great times I had with my granddad who’s no longer with us. He spent the last 10 years of his life in a nursing home with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s while I lived 250 miles away.
Granddad I’ll always miss you,
Granddad I need you so,
Granddad you meant the world to me,
Granddad why had you to go

Everyone has a song that’s theirs..I meant my wife Mary when she was 17.She got pregnant..So at 19 we got married and I slowly faded away from college to work full time for us..Wasent always easy but 4 kids and 32 yrs later we’re still together and I’m absolutely crazy about her!.So the song doesn’t fit 100% but it’s still our unofficial anthem..Everyone has a song that’s theirs..

"Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse" is a haunting question that sticks with me.

Who's listening in 2021? Its 2020 for me right now, and hopefully 2021 is a better future

"Is the dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?..." - this is at once a devastating denouement and a savaging of the American Dream, and it is just as applicable today as it was 40 years ago when I first heard it.

What a powerful song. My goodness. Got me tearing up. The Construction job that can't pay due to the economy. 2020 ppl are unemployed and feeling it. But stay strong. We will all make it!

saddest part is when he says the river is dry... crushed my heart

when I was younger, my dad used to play this song and I was obsessed with it.
we had 5 hour drives and we only had this cd, and we only ever played this song, for hours at a time.
I forgot about this song until a couple of weeks ago, its been about 10 years, and I still know every lyric off by heart.
this song holds a very special place in my heart. thank you bruce for all the memories.

It's like a movie compressed to five minutes. A good one though.

When my boy first deployed to Kandhar in 05 with the 101st this is the one album he brought with him. Nothing says America like the boss.

I hate comments like: who is listening the song in 2020. Music as every other form of art doesn’t have an expiration date

Interesting how I can literally get picture of every single moment my life when I listen to this song. Meanwhile doing this , I can also visualize the amazing times life has yet to offer and I know all I have to do is to live intensely as if there was no tomorrow. Sometimes our mistake as human beings is that we tend get stuck the good memories of our past and unconsciously forget to create new ones.

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 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 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
Käännä kielelle suomi

You know it's love when you hold her close just to feel each breath she takes so powerful

still gives me goosebumps to this day

Bruce my mum adored you,sadly taken from us 2013,just buzz off hearing your tunes.love you mum xxx

One of the most amazing songs ever written, way underrated.

First song that I heard after my dad died and I had gone home from the hospice. Couldn't stop the tears after this.

This song is for every guy who fought tooth and nail for what he had to keep
The saddest time in life is when hopes and dreams die.

Who is in quarantine and remembers this song?

thanks for likes

Very nice song that crosses years and feels like released the day before last .... Old and modern at the same time.

This Song was of my grandpa the favourite Song. He is dead but still I remember him.

I miss you❤️😭

Bruce wrote this about his sister getting pregnant at 17-years-old. It's detailed in his remarkable "Born to Run" autobiography.

How can someone not celebrate 2020 with the Boss

Everyone of us has a "River" in their life, a place filled with memories where tears were shed and happy times were spent , we all go there , This song touches the soul no matter how broken it is

Who's listening to this song in 2020? Yeah, me neither, but soon, very soon ...

"Now I just act like I don't remember." "Mary acts like she don't care."
Those lyrics are the saddest lyrics. :-(

Hoy cumplo 66 años...me hago mi propio regalo, recordando esos grandes recuerdos....👍✌

When we were young, everything seemed possible, without boundaries..until real life hits you, and you had to react like an adult from one day to another...but the dream of eternal liberty remains..as I dream sitting on the campfire in the Romanian Carpathians..oh my, what hobbits we were...