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 'em wanting me Except 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 been to the east and I been to the west And I 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
Well 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 Well I can't escape from the memory Of the one 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 the 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 her 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 And doesn't seem to shine anymore I wish I could have spent every hour of my life With the girl from the red river shore
Now I heard of a guy who lived a long time ago A man full of sorrow and strife That if 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 Except the girl from the red river shore