The River Lyrics

We were born to a land of iron and coal

In a company town that was hard and cold

The mills its heartbeat, body and soul

And a river flowed down in the valley below

Steel grey skies and the slag heap flare

Red dust cloud, you could chew the air

Closing time, with the worse for wear

On the last bus home from the market square

Sing a song to times long gone

Sing it loud and sing it strong

Sing it to the days back then

Way back in the way back when

We gave no thought to growing old

Questioned all that we'd been told

All the lies that we'd been sold

While the river flowed down in the valley below

We sang our songs and dared to win

Our places in the scheme of things

Shared it all through thick and thin

Our lives still waiting to begin

Like a thief on midnight stairs

The world crept in with all its cares

And closed the door to that place where

The river flowed down in the valley below

We all went our separate ways

Some they left, some chose to stay

Some were lost along the way

We swore we'd meet again some day

Sing a song to times long gone

Sing it loud and sing it strong

Sing it to the days back then

Way back in the way back when

So it was and so it went

We lived our lives and now they're spent

Wondering where the time all went

While the river flowed down in the valley below

And now I'm old, if truth be told

My thoughts they're not for fame or gold

They lead me to that place of old

Where our songs were sung and our tales were told

Sing a song to times long gone

Sing it loud and sing it strong

Sing it to the days back then

Way back in the way back when

Sing it high and sing it low

Sing it when the cold winds blow

Sing it in your dreams and go

Where the river flows down in the valley below