Verse
G#
Some of us turn off the lights and we live
C#
And the moonlight shooting by
G#
Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark
D#
To be where the angels fly
G#
Pretty maids all in a row lined up
C#
Outside my cabin door
G#
I've never wanted any of them wanting me
G# D# G#
Except the girl from the Red River Shore
[Verse 2]
G#
Well, I sat by her side and for a while I tried
C#
To make that girl my wife
G#
She gave me her best advice and she said
D#
Go home and lead a quiet life
G#
Well, I been to the east and I been to the west
C#
And I been out where the black winds roar
G#
Somehow though I never did get that far
G# D# G#
With the girl from the Red River Shore
[Verse 3]
G#
Well, I knew when I first laid eyes on her
C#
I could never be free
G#
One look at her and I knew right away
D#
She should always be with me
G#
Well, the dream dried up a long time ago
C#
Don't know where it is anymore
G#
True to life, true to me
G# D# G#
Was the girl from the Red River Shore
[Verse 4]
G#
Well, I'm wearing the cloak of misery
C#
And I've tasted jilted love
G#
And the frozen smile upon my face
D#
Fits me like a glove
G#
Well, I can't escape from those memories
C#
Of the one that I'll always adore
G#
All those nights, when I lay in the arms
G# D# G#
Of the girl from the Red River Shore
[Verse 5]
G#
Well, we're living in the shadows of a fading past
C#
Trapped in the fires of time
G#
I'd tried not to ever hurt anybody
D#
And to stay out of a life of crime
G#
And when it's all been said and done
C#
I never did know the score
G#
One more day is another day away
G# D# G#
From the girl from the Red River Shore
[Verse 6]
G#
Well, I'm a stranger here in a strange land
C#
But I know this is where I belong
G#
I'll ramble and gamble for the one I love
D#
And the hills will give me a song
G#
Though nothing looks familiar to me
C#
I know I've stayed here before
G#
Once, a thousand nights ago
G# D# G#
With the girl from the Red River Shore
[Verse 7]
G#
Well, I went back to see about her once
C#
Went back to straighten it out
G#
Everybody that I talked to had seen us there
D#
Said they didn't know who I was talking about
G#
Well, the sun went down on me a long time ago
C#
I had to go back from the door
G#
I wish I could have spent every hour of my life
G# D# G#
With the girl from the Red River Shore
[Verse 8]
G#
Now I heard of a guy who lived a long time ago
C#
F man full of sorrow and strife
G#
That if someone around him died and was dead
D#
He knew how to bring 'em on back to life
G#
Well, I don't know what kind of language he used
C#
Or if they do that kind of thing anymore
G#
Sometimes I think nobody saw me here at all
G# D# G#
Except the girl from the Red River Shore