Verse
F#
Some of us turn off the lights and we live
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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
B
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