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