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20 CLASSIC SONGS your friends will love

Beatles - Petty - Johnny Cash - Eagles - John Denver - Dylan

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    The River

    Bruce Springsteen

     

    Strum:  D   D U   U D U

            1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

     

     

    Intro: / Em - - - / G - - - / D - - - / C - - - /

           / Am - - - / G - - - / C - - - / C - - - /

     

       Em                    G              D                   C

    I come from down in the valley   Where mister, when you're young

           Em             G  C               G

    They bring you up to do like your daddy done

            C (2)                             

    Me and Mary we met in high school 

           G (1/2)     G/F# (1/2)  Em

    When she was just seven   -   teen

           Am (2)                           

    We'd drive out of this valley down to

      G                     C (2)

    where the fields were green   

     

    Chorus 1:

             Em          C        D                    G

    We'd go down to the river And into the river we'd dive

        Em          C          D    C

    Oh down to the river we’d ride

     

         Em           G            D                      C

    Then I got Mary pregnant  And man, that was all she wrote

         Em          G                      C                  G

    And for my 19th birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat

        C (2)                 

    We went down to the courthouse 

             G (1/2)     G/F# (1/2)  Em

    And the judge put it all   to   rest

        Am (2)

    No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle

         G                   C

    No flowers, no wedding dress

     

    Chorus 2:

                        Em          C        D                    G

    That night we went down to the river And into the river we'd dive

        Em          C            D    C

    Oh down to the river we did ride

     

    Instrumental Verse:

    / Em - - - / G - - - / D - - - / C - - - /

    / Em - - - / G - - - / C - - - / G - - - /

    / C - - - / - - - - / G - G/F# - / 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 (2)

    Now all them things that seemed so important

                  G (1/2)           G/F# (1/2)    Em

    Well mister they vanished right into   the   air

               Am (2)                             

    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 (2)

    Now those memories come back to haunt me

          G (1/2)    G/F# (1/2)     Em

    They haunt me   like     a     curse

           Am (2)

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

       G                C

    Or is it something worse

     

    Outro Chorus:

                   Em          C                 D                 G

    That sends me down to the river   Though I know the river is dry

                   Em          C       D     C

    That sends me down to the river tonight

     Em          C        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 - - - /

    / Em - - - / C - - - / D - - - / G - - - /

    / Em - - - / C - - - / D - - - / C - - - /

     

    End on Em


    This file is the author's own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It's intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.