[Verse 1] Some of us turn off the lights and we live With the moonlight shooting by Some of us scare ourselves to d**h 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 them wanting me Except the girl from the Red River Shore [Verse 2] 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 [Verse 3] 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 [Verse 4] 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 those memories Of the one that I'll always adore All those nights, when I lay in the arms Of the girl from the Red River Shore [Verse 5] Well, we're living in the shadows of a fading past Trapped in the fires of time I'd tried not to ever hurt anybody And to stay out of a 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 [Verse 6] 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 [Verse 7] 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 I had to go back from the door I wish I could have spent every hour of my life With the girl from the Red River Shore [Verse 8] 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 saw me here at all Except the girl from the Red River Shore