I prefer to take the lyrics literally rather than treat "the river" as a metaphor for anything. The song is thus pretty self-explanatory. The narrator grew up in a very conservative rural village. His teenage romance with Mary resulted in her getting pregnant, so they had to have a shotgun wedding, otherwise they would have ended up as outcasts. Some years later, they are now returning to the river - the place where they used to play and romance together during the best days of their lives.
The most notable thing about the lyrics is that the song sounds pretty innocent up until the start of the second verse. Then it takes a rather sudden turn. ("Then I got Mary pregnant...") The second chorus has the same lyrics as the first chorus but this time, their visit to the river has a different purpose - they're going there to escape their wordly troubles.
The third verse describes how they are some years later. Their situation isn't dire. He's got a job and they're not the outcasts they could have been. But he struggles to find work and money (the song was written at a time of industrial decline). Worse than that, there's a feeling of emptiness. Their love has faded, they have no dreams for the future and have a past they try to ignore. But he can't ignore it, because his memories of their romance by the river, as he describes in the final section, were actually the best moments of the life and that's why they "haunt" him. He has a melancholy life and marriage which is haunted by nostalgia for the time when they used to have fun.
So in the end, they both go down to the river ("My baby and I") to revisit the place of their favourite memories and see if they can find some of their old love again. But it's not going to be the same. The fact that the river is dry represents this. There's going to be a certain emptiness about it no matter how hard they try.
Sorry, when I wrote "I prefer to take the lyrics literally rather than treat "the river" as a metaphor for anything." as the opening sentence, this wasn't in direct response to the previous comment posted by GuyNemeth. I agree the river represents hope and dreams, just to clarify I also believe that the song also refers to a literal river as well.
Sorry, when I wrote "I prefer to take the lyrics literally rather than treat "the river" as a metaphor for anything." as the opening sentence, this wasn't in direct response to the previous comment posted by GuyNemeth. I agree the river represents hope and dreams, just to clarify I also believe that the song also refers to a literal river as well.
I prefer to take the lyrics literally rather than treat "the river" as a metaphor for anything. The song is thus pretty self-explanatory. The narrator grew up in a very conservative rural village. His teenage romance with Mary resulted in her getting pregnant, so they had to have a shotgun wedding, otherwise they would have ended up as outcasts. Some years later, they are now returning to the river - the place where they used to play and romance together during the best days of their lives.
The most notable thing about the lyrics is that the song sounds pretty innocent up until the start of the second verse. Then it takes a rather sudden turn. ("Then I got Mary pregnant...") The second chorus has the same lyrics as the first chorus but this time, their visit to the river has a different purpose - they're going there to escape their wordly troubles.
The third verse describes how they are some years later. Their situation isn't dire. He's got a job and they're not the outcasts they could have been. But he struggles to find work and money (the song was written at a time of industrial decline). Worse than that, there's a feeling of emptiness. Their love has faded, they have no dreams for the future and have a past they try to ignore. But he can't ignore it, because his memories of their romance by the river, as he describes in the final section, were actually the best moments of the life and that's why they "haunt" him. He has a melancholy life and marriage which is haunted by nostalgia for the time when they used to have fun.
So in the end, they both go down to the river ("My baby and I") to revisit the place of their favourite memories and see if they can find some of their old love again. But it's not going to be the same. The fact that the river is dry represents this. There's going to be a certain emptiness about it no matter how hard they try.
Sorry, when I wrote "I prefer to take the lyrics literally rather than treat "the river" as a metaphor for anything." as the opening sentence, this wasn't in direct response to the previous comment posted by GuyNemeth. I agree the river represents hope and dreams, just to clarify I also believe that the song also refers to a literal river as well.
Sorry, when I wrote "I prefer to take the lyrics literally rather than treat "the river" as a metaphor for anything." as the opening sentence, this wasn't in direct response to the previous comment posted by GuyNemeth. I agree the river represents hope and dreams, just to clarify I also believe that the song also refers to a literal river as well.