I consider myself beyond lucky to have been part of one of the most memorable nights in American rock history at the Giants Stadium, NJ on Friday Oct 02, 2009. This night marked one of the last few shows New Jersey’s favorite son and ambassador Bruce Springsteen, put up to bid farewell to the famous Giants Stadium (aka Meadlowlands), which will be demolished after 33 years of service.

For Springsteen (popularly referred to as “The Boss” by his fans), this was especially an important night since it represented the realization that this was the last time, the absolute last time he would ever play an arena he actually began his career from. As a tribute, Springsteen wrote and opened the show with a new song called “Wrecking Ball” especially for the stadium. Click Below to watch:

Since it was a highly befitting gesture, the New Jersey audience completely embraced the moment and the song, with the lyrics deeply referring to the Garden State with lines such as “I was raised out of steel here in the swamps of Jersey” to the all embodying “My home is here at the Meadowlands, where mosquitoes grow as big as airplanes, here where the blood is spilled, the arena is filled, and Giants play the game.” Suffice to say, the crowd felt completely rewarded already with just the first song of the concert.

Springsteen and the E Street Band planned these series of shows (spanning a little over a week), so as to perform full-album sets from the past. Each concert had over 30 songs (including the encore) with one album each day i.e. “Darkness on the Edge of Town” on Oct 02, “Born in the USA” on Oct 03 and “Born to Run” on Oct 08. A packed audience of 60,000 resilient people turned up in rain, for a memorable and historical tribute concert, lasting almost 4 hours, ending with fireworks and a befitting 4^th of July atmosphere for the last goodbye to the legendary Giants Stadium.

All header images, youtube videos and galleries: Original Copyright Salar Farooki

Additional sources of post:

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/09/bruce_springste_24.html

http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/01/bruce-springsteen-wrecking-ball/

http://connecticut.metromix.com/music/essay_photo_gallery/bruce-springsteen-at-giants/1523869/content

“When the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band, from the coastline to the city all the little pretties raise their hands.”

-Bruce Springsteen “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out”

October 21, 2009 marks the release of ‘The Big Man’ Clarence Clemons’ much anticipated book, Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales. A true gift to readers and fans alike, the book gives the world a probing look into the inner circle of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Bands royally rocking musical family.

Co-authored by Don Reo with the forward written by Bruce Springsteen, this cutting edge book enthralls readers with fact and fiction. In the forward Bruce writes, “This is not your average rock book. It is something creative, something unique, something new. It is the story of E-Street. It is the story of stories. It is the story of the Big Man.”

Throughout the book The Big Man opens up about his relationship with Bruce and reveals never been told before info. “I knew it when I first met him. Because he was what I was looking for and I was what he was looking for. When we met it felt real for me, it felt real for both of us,” Clemons proclaims.

“The tales of rock and roll history are brought to life by a legend himself, Clarence Clemons.” Former President Bill Clinton

Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales is a must have for anyone who loves Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and has been touched by the Big Man’s legendary musical prowess.

Visit the official Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales website:

www.TheBigMansBook.com

Or buy now at:

Pre-Order The Book From Amazon

###

For more information on Clarence Clemons, please contact TheBigMansMail@aol.com

©Carol AnneSzel

NOFX - Romantics?

NOFX – Together on the Sand from Ribbed
It’s been a modern punk rediscovery week. Why not kick off with Fat Mike and Co’s most romantic moment.
The Replacements – Bastards of Young from Tim
Alongside The Smiths, my all time favourite band. Starting to believe Tim might, just might, be the equal of Let it Be.
The Cramps – Human Fly from Off the Bone
A reason needed to have Human Fly on anything? Me thinks not.
Rancid – Time Bomb from …And Out Come The Wolves
One of the best post Two-Tone era ska-punk songs.
The Ataris – San Dimas High School Football Rules from Blue Skies, Broken Hearts… Next 12 Exits
It told you it was a punk week. This is the most ‘emotional’ of these punk tracks but darn it, I loves me some Ataris. Not new Ataris. Just this Ataris.
Amadou & Mariam – Sabali from Welcome to Mali
A transcendent slice of funky dance music and, thus far, one of the soundtrack songs for my summer.
The Decemberists – The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid from The Hazards of Love
I don’t care what the anti-hipsters say, Colin Meloy is a great songwriter and with this record, he’s learned how to rock.
Neko Case – Middle Cyclone from Middle Cyclone
Possibly the single richest female voice working today. This whole album, if you’ve yet to try, is a Spotify must.
Ash – Oh Yeah from Intergalactic Sonic Sevens
Taken from their first record really but their singles collection shows that Ash, for all their precociousness and need to be taken seriously, are a top pop band.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – American Girl from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
I only like about three Tom Petty songs but American Girl, his signature tune, is just a perfect summer driving song.
St Vincent – These Days from Jesus Saves, I Spend
A b-side cover of the classic Jackson Browne tune. The Nico version is wonderful too but this one is sung by a young lady who can, well, actually sing.
Cheap Trick – Surrender from At Budokan
The live version of the easiest song on Guitar Hero, taken in tribute to our Rock Band rediscovery session over many beers in the past week.
Love as Laughter – Miss Direction from Sea to Shining Sea
An occasionally great band’s greatest moment. Contains the line “she’s the greatest miss I’ve ever seen”. Track down the Neal Casal cover for even more resonant feeling.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Born To Run from Born to Run
The Boss. If you don’t like Born to Run, it’s possible you’ve already died.

LISTEN AWAY

Last night was Bruce Springsteen at the RDS. My first Springsteen concert, ever. My mother left me at home when she went to Slane in 1985.

The rain fell. Heavy. Sheets of it that only stopped – appropriately enough – for ‘Waiting on a Sunny Day’. A rainbow teased the crowd and blue skies flirted on the horizon but the rain returned. A rain that somewhat dampened spirits. Not that the crowd were completely untouched by the enthusiasm shown onstage by Bruce and The E Street Band.

And the music was almost sublime. As close to near perfect as one could hope. Save for the omission of ‘Atlantic City’: one of my favourites. But you can’t have everything. I did get ‘Thunder Road’ and ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’. (Setlist here)

But the venue. The damn venue. I’ve looked up figures and will try my best to be accurate in my criticism. Ok, the RDS can hold up to 35,000 people. I’m going to say that this was how many people were at the RDS last night, give or take a few thousand. Let’s say one third of these people were female (majority male audience I felt). That’s about 12,000 females. Let’s say 10,000 of these females consumed some form of beverage in the 6 hours they were at the RDS. And let us now run away with the conclusion that a sizeable number of those who drank needed the bathroom at some stage.

I visited a bathroom that had 7 cubicles. I noted two other bathrooms in the vicinity. I’m willing to double the number of cubicles I saw and give the RDS the benefit of my doubt and say there were 40 toilet cubicles reserved for females in total.

40?! For 10,000 people? That’s 250 people to each cubicle. That’s 50 people an hour using one toilet. Giving each female who went to the concert about 1 minute to use the facilities. And, yes, there were queues for the gents, also pretty long and as there were far more of them than there were of us I can only imagine the frustration they experienced.

There were queues. Long queues. Queues that meant I missed three songs and then lost my place with my friends. Which meant I was separated until the end. Until the parts when you’re supposed to look at the people around you in a rapturous rock ‘n’ roll gaze and smile were over.

So, thank you Bruce Springsteen. I was entertained and I love you more now. But damn you RDS, damn you Aiken and damn you Irish event management.

Do your job.

Well I got this guitar

And I learned how to make it talk
And my car’s out back
If you’re ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door’s open but the ride it ain’t free
And I know you’re lonely
For words that I ain’t spoken
But tonight we’ll be free
All the promises’ll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes
Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets

They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they’re gone
On the wind, so Mary climb in
It’s a town full of losers
And I’m pulling out of here to win.

För 20 år sedan gillade jag Bruce Springsteen.

Fortfarande gillar jag den musik som han gjorde fram till för 20 år sedan. Ett antal förvirrade och tråkiga skivsläpp sedan dess har dock fått intresset att svalna.

“Bossens” största misstag någonsin var att stöpa om E-Street Band till ett tillfälligt kompband. Bandet och de enskilda musikerna, inte minst Max Weinberg och Roy Bittan, skapade det sväng och den musikalitet som man förknippar med den unge Bruce Springsteen.

Problemet illustreras av dagens uppsättning av E-Street Band där både Danny Federici och Max Weinberg saknas. Weinbergs son, som agerar stand-in, saknar helt sin fars stadiga händer och slaktar totalt rytmsektionens arbete på ett mycket värre sätt än Springsteens urflippade första trummis, Vini ”Mad Dog” Lopez, någonsin förmådde.

Jag är glad att jag inte har biljett till Stockholms Stadion denna helg eftersom minnet av tidigare, magiska Springsteenkonserter då skulle ha ersatts av en sorgligare skepnad.

SvD : DN

‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’ was among the songs I wrote for the E Street Band to complete the ‘Greatest Hits’ album. It started out as a rock song. But it didn’t feel right, so I set it aside. I returned to it some months later, while still unsure of what I wanted to work on next. After working with the band in New York, I went back to California and started recording at home. I had ‘Straight Tim’, ‘Highway 29′, and ‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’. I also had a notebook filled with unfinished song ideas.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Magic Tour @ Seattle's Key Arena. Photo by John Uppendahl.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Magic Tour @ Seattle's Key Arena. Photo by John Uppendahl.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band never disappoint in concert.  I took the photos above in Seattle on the Magic Tour.  Set list follows:

March 29, 2008 - Seattle, Washington – Key Arena
 
Trapped { lyrics } Tour Premiere
Radio Nowhere { lyrics }
No Surrender { lyrics }
Lonesome Day { lyrics }
Gypsy Biker { lyrics }
Magic { lyrics }
Reason To Believe { lyrics }
Darkness On The Edge Of Town { lyrics }
Because The Night { lyrics }
She’s The One { lyrics }
Livin’ In The Future { lyrics }
The Promised Land { lyrics }
Waitin’ On A Sunny Day { lyrics }
Your Own Worst Enemy { lyrics }
Point Blank { lyrics } Tour Premiere
Devil’s Arcade { lyrics }
The Rising { lyrics }
Last To Die { lyrics }
Long Walk Home { lyrics }
Badlands { lyrics }

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out { lyrics }
Rosalita { lyrics }
Born To Run { lyrics }
American Land { lyrics }

Mitt den kokande Dylan-veckan, efter konserterna i Stockholm (som ni kunnat läsa om i den här bloggen) och innan den avslutas i Malmö på lördag, kommer här ännu en Dylan Top 20 – den här gången från Lund.

Det är min konsertpolare Anders Davidsson, som presenterar sig själv alldeles utmärkt:

Jaha, så ska ett lätt fanatiskt Springsteen-fan ge sig på denna uppgift. Ska ärligen säga att jag har aldrig har tillhört storkonsumenterna eller finsmakarna bland Dylan-lyssnarna, men precis som Kristina Olsson skrev här för ett tag sedan så har Mats blogg fått mig att gräva djupare i Dylans arkiv och även fått mig att inse vilka fantastiska låtar mannen har skrivit. Verkligen!
De underbara konserter med Mikael Wiehe & Ebba Forsberg som jag
har upplevt har också bidragit till att väcka mitt intresse för Dylan och hans musik. Jag tror t ex inte att “Boots Of Spanish Leather” hade toppat min lista om det inte var för Wiehes & Forsbergs magiska “Spanska stövlar”.
Vet inte hur många gånger den har gått på repeat hemma hos mig…
Speaking of Springsteen: “Chimes Of Freedom” med Bruce & The E Street Band från Stockholms Stadion 1988 tycker jag är en av världens bästa låtar. Ändå finns den inte med på min Top 20, det säger väl ganska mycket om klassen på Dylans musik…

1. Boots Of Spanish Leather
2. Changing Of The Guards
3. Blind Willie McTell
4. Man In The Long Black Coat
5. Every Grain Of Sand
6. Tomorrow Is A Long Time
7. Positively 4th Street
8. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
9. All Along The Watchtower (Live)
10. Angelina
11. Make You Feel My Love
12. Hurricane
13. Precious Angel
14. Wedding Song
15. As I Went Out One One Morning
16. Mama, You Been On My Mind
17. If You See Her, Say Hello
18. Heart Of Mine
19. If Not For You
20. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

This new album called “Working on a Dream” is the twenty-fourth album of Bruce Springsteen (The Boss) and it has been released on Columbia Records. This is also the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O’Brien. At the time of the recording, the E Street Band has collaborated too, with the professionalism of always. “Working on a dream” was recorded during the Bruce Springsteen’s and the E Street Band’s Magic Tour 2008. 

  The new great album of The Boss includes the following songs:

“Outlaw Pete”, “My Lucky Day”, “Working On A Dream”, “Queen Of The Supermarket”, “What Love Can Do”, “This Life”, “Good Eye”, “Tomorrow Never Knows”, “Life Itself”, “Kingdom Of Days”, “Surprise, Surprise”, “The Last Carnival” and the Bonus track, “The Wrestler” ( an amazing song which won the Golden Globe and will probably win the Oscar).

 I think that “Working On A Dream” is one of the best albums of Bruce Springsteen. I like especially the song “The Queen Of The Supermarket”; an emotional great song full of melody. In addition, I have to mention another song called “My lucky day” a song with a lively melody and full of energy. In this new album, Springsteen has put together a variety of great songs which show us the energy that this band have.

 Moreover, this summer Bruce and the great musicians of the E Street Band are going to Come to the Basque Country (Bilbao) to  perform in San Mames Stadium in 26^th july.

This is going to be a great event. So now the only thing that we can do is:  wait for the day in which The Boss and his band will  make his fans dance and sing!!

REFERENCES 

•  “WORKING ON A DREAM”: NOW AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE!. (January 27, 2009). In Bruce Springsteen. Retrieved: 15:30, February 7, 2009, from http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html
•  Working on a dream. (January 27, 2009). In La Higuera. Retrieved: 16:00, February 7, 2009, from  http://www.lahiguera.net/musicalia/artistas/bruce_springsteen/disco/3442/
• Bruce Springsteen: “Working on a dream” para enero 2009. (November 20, 2008). In Dentro Musica. Retrieved: 16:25, February 7, 2009, from       http://www.dentromusica.com/2008/11/20/bruce-springsteen-working-on-a-dream-para-enero-2009/

För att utge mig som en Bruce-älskare av stora mått, så har jag skrivit väldigt lite angående hans annalkande turné med stop i Stockholm i juni. Vet inte varför riktigt. Har lyssnat genom senaste skivan, Workin on a dream, ett par fem gånger nu och måste väl erkänna att den inte är hans främsta direkt. Men det är ju Bruce. Och Bruce är alltid Bruce. Men jag vill passa på att lägga upp min stora favoritlåt med The Boss ikväll. Så håll till godo. Jag bjuder er Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, live från sent 70-tal! 

Thanks to Reuters Blogs

Posted by: Bob Tourtellotte

Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

Nobody can deny that rock icon Bruce Springsteen put a lot of sweat into his 12-minute Super Bowl half-time show. But it left the critics still pining for a little more.
    
The New York Times wrote in its review that Springsteen “rose to the occasion, but never above it.”    
The paper noted that Springsteen, whose songs often run longer than the average two-minute pop hit, dropped verses in the four songs he performed during the half-time show, the better to fit them all into his set. 
    
Todd Martens at the Los Angeles Times music blog Pop & Hiss wrote that the Springsteen show was not a concert “but a teaser — and it was, admittedly, an entertaining one — for Springsteen’s upcoming tour.” 
  Stephen Metcalf at the online magazine Slate.com wrote that Springsteen misread his television audience with the performance. “The national mood is sober bordering on a galloping panic. Lively as he was, I wouldn’t say the Boss did much to either banish or capture it,” Metcalf wrote. 

And Greg Kot at the Chicago Tribute blog Turn It Up wrote that as entertaining as the show was, it revealed the best and worst of Springsteen. He noted Springsteen’s line telling viewers to put down the guacamole dip, and his play-acting with a referee who ran on stage. “This was Springsteen as song-and-dance man, an accomplished artist reduced to pandering,” Kot wrote.
    
If nothing else, Springsteen proved himself to be flexible for a 59-year-old man, at one point sliding across the stage and into a television camera. Springsteen had been approached for years to play at the Super Bowl, but he always said no until this year. Was it worth the wait?

Santonio Holmes, MVP do 43º SuperBowl

Eu gosto tanto quando a final de um campeonato é um jogo cheio de possibilidades, reviravoltas e indefinição até o último segundo, você não? O Superbowl deste ano foi ainda mais emocionante que o do ano passado, e olha que o SB XLII teve a melhor das dez melhores jogadas da história da competição [o lançamento de Eli Manning pro David Tyree a 55s do fim].

Ontem teve muitas jogadas dignas do Top10; a principal, eu acho, aconteceu na final do segundo quarto: foi a interceptação do James Harrison dentro da end zone e a corrida de cem jardas, atravessando todo o campo, que não apenas evitou o touchdown do Cardinals mas ainda se reverteu em TD pros Steelers. Foi fantástico! Se antes do jogo não tava torcendo pra nenhum time, a partir daí era Steelers desde criancinha – eu e o Obama, né?

O Pittsburgh Steelers era o favorito com cinco títulos nas costas, com o Arizona Cardinals de azarão pela primeira vez num SB mas, de novo, quem não se lembra do Patriots invicto de 2007/2008 quando se fala em favoritismo? A namorada brasileira do quarterback Tom Brady estava tão confiante que disse que desfilaria pelada pelas ruas de Boston se eles perdessem. Até onde se sabe, Gisele Bündchen nunca cumpriu sua promessa/ameaça.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Isso [o fato de que favoritismo não quer dizer muito] ficou na cabeça o tempo todo: no primeiro quarto o placar marcava 10 x 3 a favor do Pittsburgh, depois 20 a 7 após o show do Bruce Springsteen. Aí o Arizona foi chegando e virou 23 a 20 faltando três minutos pro fim. Os caras da tv todos fazendo conta de field goal pra empatar, daê o Pittsburgh vira de novo com um TD do Santonio Holmes, 27 a 23. Só dá pra relaxar a cinco segundos do fim. Isso que é jogo!

O QB dos Cardinals teve um consolo, pelo menos: Kurt Warner foi eleito Homem do Ano por seu trabalho beneficente, da temporada. Esse é o tipo de coisa que eu gostaria que o esporte brasileiro copiasse, em vez das notícias que temos lido envolvendo atletas brasileiros recentemente.

E por falar no show do intervalo, u-au. Não é à toa que o cara é The Boss! Ele não tava nem aí se seriam apenas doze minutos e fez uma abertura de megashow. Não rolou Dancing in the Dark, claro, mas também não teve Born in the USA – o que eu agradeço bastantão. Eu tinha cogitado Glory Days mas achei que não ia caber porque fala sobre um jogador de baseball – aí O Chefe vai lá e adapta a letra! Ficou ótimo, e a tirada final com o Steve Van Zandt a respeito do tempo que estava acabando coroou um show SUPER. Pra ouvir bem alto.

E pra ver também caus que, aos 58, ele ainda preenche bem um jeans apertado.

Show do intervalo – parte 1
Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed8ERP6fD8Q

Parte 2
Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf9d7GOZWw8

Setlist
10th Avenue Freeze-Out
Born to Run
Working on a Dream
Glory Days

Já o pré-show eu num curti. Lóvo Journey e Don’t stop belevin’ é a minha favorita [eu tenho o vinil das músicas das propagandas de cigarro Hollywood só por causa dessa música] mas o Arnel Pineda estica o tempo mais do que o Steve Perry. Isso e mais as reviradinhas de olho deixaram a canção melosa demais pro meu gosto. O tom de voz parece, OK, mas nhai.

Veja: com Steve Perry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip1zsUIosoA

Com Arnel Pineda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoF9UWlWF1M

Em compensação, gostei da interpretação do hino nacional [geralmente acho um pé no saco]. A Jennifer Hudson a tornou melódica e não melósica, heh. Foi a primeira apresentação pública depois do assassinato da família no ano passado.

Hino Nacional: Jennifer Hudson
Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk5ASIizjvQ

Os comerciais de 3 milhões de dólares no site da NFL [e aqui a gente é obrigado a assistir aquele cachorro-peixe até enjoar...].

Here is what Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played at half-time of Super Bowl XLIII

1. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

2. Born To Run

3. Working On A Dream/Glory Days

“Who decides? The boss decides,”

-Bruce Springsteen on the selection of the Superbowl half-time set-list.

The Boss promises a “12 minute party” at the half-time of the Superbowl this year.

He’s not saying what he’ll play but here are 12 minutes of his classics…

Glory Days

Born To Run

Born In the USA

We’ll see how close the prediction is….

(See last years Tom Petty setlist post)

The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, has announced his world tour following his performance at President Obama’s inauguration celebrations last week.  Tickets are now onsale at NationalShowTickets.com

The tour begins in California at the Hp Pavilion in San Jose and continues to Phoenix,  Austin, Tulsa, Houston and Denver and then back to California with a performance in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.  Afterward you will find Bruce in Boston, Atlanta and Phladelphia and then New York and Canada.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will be on tour from 4/1 to 7/3 with the final show in Germany.  Most of touring cities are in the US.

Tickets and Show Information Available At http://www.NationalShowTickets.com

“The River” de Bruce Springsteen marcou profundamente a minha adolescência, exactamente neste registo (ao vivo) e nesta versão, presente no álbum “Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Live 1975-85″. Tem a melhor e mais sentida “intro song”, que eu já ouvi em toda a minha vida. Talvez, por isso, eu recorde cada palavra da história que ele contava, dos sítios onde “The Boss” respirava, suspirava ou simplesmente ria. Ele contava um episódio pessoal, com contornos de uma juventude conturbada pela guerra do Vietname e pelas diferenças que debatia com o seu pai. 

My dad said: “Where you been?”
I said: “I went to take my physical.”
He says: “What happened?”
I said: “They didn’t take me.”
And he said: “That’s good.”

[excerto da "Intro song"]

Contudo o que contagiava era a sinceridade das palavras, a cumplicidade que se instaurava entre quem assistia e depois em quem ouvia aquele desfiar embargado de momentos passados.  Só o som forte da harmónica rompia com aquele discurso emotivo, que deixara já o público rendido, para se avançar para “The River”, a música que deambula pelos sonhos de uma juventude, subitamente desfeita e a pesada herança que se herda, por culpa de actos que não se controlam – a história de tantos.
Hoje ouvi novamente esta música e as memórias de outrora voltaram de imediato. E eu cantei, relembrei e revivi… e desejei ter lá estado nesse dia. Há músicas que marcam a vida da gente e esta marcou a minha.

The River – Bruce Springsteen

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 ride out of that 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