Live 25 Oct 2021 version
[Stephen Colbert (spoken intro):] And now performing "The River", Bruce Springsteen.
I come from down in the valley where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do yeah like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school when she was just seventeen
We ride out of that valley down to where the fields were green
We go down to the river and into the river we dive
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 dive
Down to the river we'd ride
I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
Lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
All those things that seemed so important, they vanished right into the air
I 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 those 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, yeah 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
Sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river, my baby and I
Down to the river we ride
The above lyrics are for the live 25 Oct 2021 performance of THE RIVER on The Late Night With Stephen Colbert. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar.
The Late Night With Stephen Colbert is filmed at Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, NY. This was Bruce Springsteen's third appearance on the CBS show, this time to promote two upcoming releases: his and Barack Obama's book Renegades: Born In The USA and his album and home video The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts. Springsteen sat for an interview with Stephen Colbert and performed one song.
List of available versions of THE RIVER on this website:
THE RIVER [Album version]