Thána aníos as an ngleanntán is nuair a bhíos-sa óg
Do leanas-sa mo dhaid, dob é sin an nós,
Mise is Mary, bhuaileas léi ar scoil, bhí sise seacht mbliana déag
Amach linn as an ngleanntán síos go dtí an gort glas réidh.
Théimis síos chun na habhann is thumaimis insan abhainn síos
Ó thíos cois na habhann sin a bhíos.
Ansin bhí Mary ag iompar, is ní dúirt sí féin níos mó
Is nuair a bhíos-sa naoi déag is mé sa cheardchumann is pósta go hóg
Chuamar go dtí an giúistís agus dhein sé siúd an gnó
Gan gáire pósta, ná siúl síos an aidhill, ná gúna is gan flós.
Chuamar an oíche sin chun na habhann is thumamar san abhainn síos
Ó thíos cois na habhann sea do bhíos, yé yé yé
Fuaireas jab ag obair ar thógáil leis an Johnstown Company
Le tamall níl mórán ar siúl, cuir an locht ar an eacnamaíocht,
Bhuel na rudaí go léir a raibh tábhacht leo, bhuel mister do dh’imigh mar shneachta ar chnoc, Mary – cuma léi sa phoc*.
Ach is cuimhin liom sinn ag marcaíocht i gcairt mo dhearthár, a colainn fliuch is donn thíos ag an taiscumar,
Istoíche ar an mbruach gan suan le fáil, á tarraingt chugam chun go gcloisfinn a hanáil,
Is tá na cuimhní sin anois dom’ chrá, mar mhallachtaí im’ lár,
An bréag í brionglóid mura dtagann í gcrích, nó an seacht measa atá
A chuireann síos chun na habhann mé, cé gurb eol dom í bheith i ndísc
A chuireann síos chun na habhann mé anocht, aidhe yaidhe yaidhe,
Síos chun na habhann, mé féin is mo mhian,
Ó, síos chun na habhann ag marcaíocht, á, yé yé
Ó . . .
[* nó b'fhéidir 'sa sioc'; is deacair an ls. a léamh]
The River
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, yay yay yay
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, ay yay yay
Down to the river, my baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride, ah yay yay
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