The morning I left home the summer was brand new
Had many miles to roam – didn’t know where I was hearing to
Local girls want to settle down and be a shackle on your hand
But you don’t come from the lowlands and you don’t understand

Reached the ocean only with a cap and violin
Woods green as a fable, when the summer storms rolled in
Then I wore my hands to holds from digging up the streets
And the road from out of there looked broad and straight and sweet

Said meet me by the river on the edge of town
Down by the water when the sun goes down
Whispered I’d make good on all the promises I said
But if the highway comes between us – I’ll follow her instead

Left England on a Sunday when the clouds blocked out the sun
Stood on silent platforms where the trains don’t ever come
Hit Spain three days later eighteen months before the war
Nameless village hearing songs I’d never heard before

Ate honoured meals of strangers hearing white washed church bells ring;
Folks talking different languages are saying the same things
Mary carried roses to the church with all her friends
Weeping tears of gold into the hands of beggar men

Said meet me by the river on the edge of town
Down by the water when the sun goes down
Whispered I’d make good on all the promises I said
But if the highway comes between us – I’ll follow her instead

Said meet me by the river on the edge of town
Down by the water when the sun goes down
Whispered I’d make good on all the promises I said
But if the highway comes between us – I’ll follow her instead