Album: The River (1980)

Charted: 35

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• 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
  Yeah, yeah
  
  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-ide
  
  Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
  Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
  Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
  Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
  Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
  Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
  Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
  Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Writer/s: Bruce Springsteen
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 37

• Anonymous from San BernardinoI grew up on sac river american river this song evokes those memorable days
• Dmytro from UkraineThis song is older than me but it still feels like a dive in the river.
• Delilah from Paramaribo, SurinameA dream that didn't come true means simply the reality of life and facing that may be hard and painful (at least to me). So the person regrets that it didn't 'happen' for him and for his wife, but in the end it did happen, for it is his life.
  
  A dried up river may point at the years that have passed or the end of someone's life.
  
• Cody from Windber, PaBuy Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band live 1975 - 1985. The best part about that box set is the harmonica being played on The River.
• Ryan from Warren Ohio,This album changed my life. Just wanted to say that (not that anyone cares). But this song (along with the whole album) makes you think about who you are and what you've done and makes you look through yourself in the mirror. Thank you Bruce!
• Joe from Philadelphia, PaThe River is about his sister. He usually dedicates it to her when he plays it in concert.
• Tim from Clarkdale, AzOne of the most beautifully crafted songs I've ever heard- the hopes dreams and excitement of his youth encapuslated into a perfect moment by the river on the eve of entire lifetime. Then the trials of real life overtake and begin to crush his dreams, slowly wearing him down until he grimly accepts his fate. But he will never forget....
  If you listen to/read Fast Car by Tracy Chapman you will see that the theme and structure is exactly the same.
• Jennifer from Harrodsburg, KyThis tape was a gift for me my Senior year of High School. My girlfriend and I rode around with Bruce blasting in our radio. Thanks for the memories.Still 20 + years still a fan. J.Hume
• Mike from Johnstown, PaThis song continues the story of Mary, introduced in Thunder Road. The love he and Mary used to share dries up like the river they used to dive in during their courting days.
• Jennifer from Harrodsburg, KyGrowing up in the eighties my girlfriend had a black fiat. We rode around many a night listening
  to The River. We would ride around on cold nights
  cruising around our local hometown with the top down and the heater blowing wide open. Ha! Bruce thanks for the memories.
  
  jennifer harrodsburg ky
• Brad from Lexington, Ky"Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" One of the most powerful and Haunting lines I have ever heard, and, like many Springsteen lyrics, can be interpreted many ways. I've always thought this line means that when your dreams are destroyed, you would be better off unable to dream at all. It could also mean that the only thing worse than a dream not coming true is losing your ability to dream at all. Either way, this song is one of my favorites of all time.
  
  
• Steve from Brisbane, AustraliaLife imitates art. My wife and I separated yesterday. We met at high school 25 years ago. Had a baby before I could say "so Rosy come out tonight", got married for a total outlay of $200 at 4 weeks notice and lurched between triumph and tragedy for a quarter of a century. We still love each other but Jackie (not Mary - that would be really bizarre) loves someone else too now.
  What a song, it has been putting a lump in my throat since our early days and now we're over, I'm drawn to it even more. SteveK.
• Ed from Chesapeake, VaI think this is one of the greatest songs ever written - every line is meaningful. To me, this song is an extension and finalization of images Springsteen used in earlier songs, such as Rosalita, Thunder Road, and Born to Run. In those songs, the singer and his girl were going to use their car to get away from whatever was holding them back, be it parents, school, a crummy job, etc. In The River, they took that car down to the river, where they could be free.
  
  However, in this song, reality sets in - Mary gets pregnant, they have a shotgun wedding, and he takes construction job. Whatever dreams they had for their young lives are gone, and years later those memories haunt him like a curse. I see the imagery of the river as a combination of the singer's youthful dreams and perhaps the American Dream. This may be a repetition of a cycle going on for generations, since down in the valley, "they bring you up to do like your daddy done."
• Brian from Chicago, IlI agree with Rhianne that the River is a metaphor for their spontaneous relationship. He makes a similar reference in "Hungry Heart." "Got a wife and kids in Baltimore Jack. I went out for a ride and I never went back. Like a river that don't know where it's flowin, I took a wrong turn and I just kept going." I think that song is about him having an affair that sweeps him away only to leave him high and dry.
• Tim from Raleigh, NcThere is only one thing worse than a dream not coming true: losing your capacity to dream. That's the reason the river is dry.
• Blake from London, United KingdomI know what you mean, Bruce, for I too have often wondered about it. The song, to me, could almost pass as a lesson to not have affairs before marriage. I think that something as intimate as that should stay in marriage when you are properly bonded. If you want me to expand, please reply. But overall, this song is really great. It made number 25 of the most exquisitely sad songs ever, according to http://www.spinner.com/2007/05/03/the-25-most-exquisitely-sad-songs-in-the-whole-world-no-25/
• Bruce from Columbia, ScGreat song. I have always wondered about the something worse line. It has a forboding feel to it like something very dark had just happened.
  The line about me and my baby, is he talking about his wife or the kid? Very cryptic.
• Alexandre from Santos, BrazilWhat else could anyone say about such brilliant song and lyrics??? As a lyricist, Bruce is only surpassed by Mr. Dylan. By far this is one of the greatest songs by Bruce! I use to sing it on the streets, taking a shower, on the beach...I love this song! Alexandre Albertoni, Bairro da Aparecida, City of "Santos", Brazil. June 3, 2008.
• Jim from Warner Robins, GaJust one of a lot of great songs from Springsteen.This one may have the best lyrics though.
• Gene from San Diego, CaLove the metaphor of the river as his life. Great song. Probably one of his best.
• Colin from Coventry, EnglandWhy would someone want to even try and do a cover of this. It's not possible - it's perfect as it is. Leave it alone!
• Alec from Sydney, AustraliaOne of the Boss's greatest, if not, the greatest song he wrote. Certainly greatest story song just love the emotion he pours into it
• Jessica from Blmtn, InThis song got me hooked on Bruce Springsteen. Its very poetic and very romantic, and very sad. every time i hear it it makes me cry. I have the cd The Essential 3 disc one with this song on it.
• Rhianne from Sunshine Coast, Australiathis song brought tears to my eyes. but what i think (thanks to being a hopeless romantic) is that the reference to 'the river' means the spontaneity of the relationship. the relationship started, they'd 'dive' into it, then the wedding, they had the spark, still young lovers, referring to 'into the river we did ride', then i turn to the last few lines in the song, there lives having been mapped out for them the spontaneity was taken out of the relationship, 'though i know that the river is dry', but the last two lines give me, and the hopeless romantics like me, hope, for the song finishes 'down to the river we dive.' i think the spontaneity of the relationship was taken, but the love remained, although it was hard, thats life and when he says 'my baby and i', well, thats when i cry for the hope that everything will be alright for the lovers and others like them.
• Neil.t from Blackburn, Englandthe lovely lyrics, i act like i dont remember mary acts like she dont care, so true in all of us
• Andrew from New Bethlehem, PaYeah. if you ever get a chance to hear The Clarks' version, it's pretty good. I believe it was on the Springsteen tribute CD. I also suggest hearing some other Clarks stuff as well.
• John from Mullica Hill, NjI always thought the river was a metaphor for escape (drugs,drinking whatever). When you realize the escape is empty and meaningless ( "I know the river is dry")its probably the lonliest moment in your life.
• Chad from Eagan, MnThis song is very haunting in a very realistic way. It could happen to anyone. The best lyrics IMO in this song are:
  
  "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 right there makes it very haunting and very sad.
• Robert from New York, NyHmm. For some reason it reminds me of the book How Green was my Valley, by Richard Llewellyn, about a boy growing up in a small town in a valley. It's a tough read, but it's a classic.
• Ty from Indianapolis, InYeah. The lyrics are great. "Is a dream a lie if it dont come true or is something worse" makes you really go over all the things you wanted to happen in your life that didnt and question your own personal ambitions and dreams in your life. Thats amazing one line can evoke that in you. Plus it reminds me of someone.
• Roxanne from Southwest, Flor is it something worse that sends me down to the river even though the river is dry"
  
  This is a metaphor. The River was meaning his life and his dreams, alive and flowing. Now, since the marriage, child, and economy, all of his hopes and dreams are gone. The river drying up reflects this....
• Scott from Nyc, NyI grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen songs like "Lucky Town" and "Local Hero" which to me, seem like happy and light hearted songs. When I first heard this song, I was awed by the depth of sad and angry emotion Springsteen was able to convey, and then moved by the amazing lyrics, as Carlos said.
• John from Cambridge, CanadaMy uncle is convinced that the guy in the song kills himself at the end, because of the line "or is it something worse that sends me down to the river even though the river is dry" I don't think that's what's going on, but it's an interesting take on it.
• Bob from Norwood, Paon the live box the begining of the song it really relates to me and my father and our realationship when i was a kid.
• Billy from Pittsburgh, PaThis song was covered recently (and very well, I might add) by a local band called the Clarks. They've had a following in Pittsburgh for some time, and now they're getting some national recognition - they even went on Letterman this fall. If you find it, check it out.
• Fabio from Melbourne, AustraliaIn the Box Set Bruce Springsteen Live from 1975 to 1985 Before Bruce Plays the River The Band in the background a playing a melady with bruce telling the story of the relationship between himself and his father. I would lie to know if anyone knows what that melady was and what its called and if there is anyway I can get a hold of just the melady.
• Carlos from Albacete, Spainthe lyrics from this song are impressive."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"

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