He Fades Awaythe River-Philip Quast

He Fades Away/ The River There's a man in my bed, I used to love him His kisses used to take my breath away There's a man in my bed, I hardly know him I wipe his face and hold his hand and watch him As he slowly fades away And he fades away Not like leaves that fall in Autumn Turning gold against the grey He fades away Like the bloodstains on the pillowcase I wash every day He fades away And he's not the only one who made the trip so many years ago To work the Wittenoom mine So many young men old before their time and dying slow They fade away Wheezing bags of bones with lungs half clogged and filled with clay They fade away There's a man in my bed, they never told him The cost of bringing home his weekly pay And when the courts decide how much they owe him How will he spend his money when he lies in bed And coughs his life away And he fades away Not like leaves that fall in Autumn Turning gold against the grey He fades away Like the bloodstains on the pillowcase that I wash every day He fades away He fades away I come from down in the valley Where mister when you're young They bring you up to do like your daddy done Me and Mary we met in high school She was just seventeen We'd ride out of this valley down to where the fields were green We'd go down to the river And into the river we'd dive Oh, down to the river we did ride Then I got Mary pregnant And man that was all she wrote And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat We went down to the courthouse and the judge put it all to rest No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle No flowers, no wedding dress That night we went down to the river And into the river we'd dive Oh, down to the river we did ride (down to the river) Down to the river And into the river we'd dive (the river) Oh, down to the river we did ride I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy Now all them things that seemed so important Well mister they vanished right into the air Now I act like I don't remember Mary acts like she don't care But I remember us riding in my brother's car Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir At night on them banks I'd lie awake And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take Now those memories come back to haunt me They haunt me like a curse Is a dream a lie if it don't come true Or is it something worse That sends me down to the river Though I know the river is dry That sends me down to the river tonight (down to the river) Down to the river, my baby and I (the river) Oh, down to the river tonight Down to the river Though I know the river is dry That sends me down to the river tonight Down to the river, my baby and I Sends me down to the river at night ...