Red River Shore - Bob Dylan

Some of us turn off the lights and we live

In the moonlight shooting by

Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark

To be where the angels fly

Pretty maids all in a row lined up

Outside my cabin door

I've never wanted any of them wanting me

'Cept the girl from the Red River shore

Well, I sat by her side and for a while I tried

To make that girl my wife

She gave me her best advice and she said

"Go home and lead a quiet life."

Well, I've been to the east and I've been to the west

And I've been out where the black winds roar

Somehow, though, I never did get that far

With the girl from the Red River shore

Well, I knew when I first laid eyes on her

I could never be free

One look at her and I knew right away

She should always be with me

Well, the dream dried up a long time ago

Don't know where it is anymore

True to life, true to me

Was the girl from the Red River shore

Now I'm wearing the cloak of misery

And I've tasted jilted love

And the frozen smile upon my face

Fits me like a glove

But I can't escape from the memory

Of the one that I'll always adore

All those nights when I lay in the arms

Of the girl from the Red River shore

Well, we're living in the shadows of a fading past

Trapped in the fires of time

I've tried not to ever hurt anybody

And to stay out of a life of crime

And when it's all been said and done

I never did know the score

One more day is another day away

From the girl from the Red River shore

Well, I'm a stranger here in a strange land

But I know this is where I belong

I'll ramble and gamble for the one I love

And the hills will give me a song

Though nothing looks familiar to me

I know I've stayed here before

Once, a thousand nights ago

With the girl from the Red River shore

Well, I went back to see about it once

Went back to straighten it out

Everybody that I talked to had seen us there

Said they didn't know who I was talking about

Well, the sun went down on me a long time ago

I've had to fall back from the door

I wish I could have spent every hour of my life

With the girl from the Red River shore

Now, I've heard of a guy who lived a long time ago

A man full of sorrow and strife

Whenever someone around him died and was dead

He knew how to bring 'em on back to life

Well, I don't know what kind of language he used

Or if they do that kind of thing anymore

Sometimes I think nobody ever saw me here at all

'Cept the girl from the Red River shore