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INTRO  Bm  D  Bm  D

Bm                         D
Well, I was eighteen, my brother was twenty-one.
Bm                         D    
One Saturday evenin' when all the work was done, 
    A                                G          
We went down to the river. Had some trot lines we'd run.

Bm                       D
My brother Walter had a fight the week before. 
Bm                          D
Knocked a boy name Wilson through the pool hall doors.
      A                                G
They said you don't mess with Wilson unless you want a war.

Bm                                 D
I put the boat in the water and I made the engine run.
Bm                     D
I loaded the lantern against the sinkin' sun.
    A                      G
And my brother Walter was loadin' his gun...
    D   A             Bm   D   Bm  D
And we went down the river...

Bm                       D
Down past the coal docks we were runnin' our line.
Bm                           D
Heard some drunken boaters racin' up behind.
         A                          G
It was Wilson and his cousin, had trouble on their mind.

Bm                      D 
They passed on by us, probably goin' to tend their pot.
Bm                      D
We headed up the river with the fish that we'd caught but,
  A                             G
Before we made the landing, I thought I heard a shot...
D     A        Bm  D  Bm  D  A  G
Back down the river...

Bm                           D
Well my brother Walter fell over the side.
Bm                      D
I couldn't find him no matter how I tried
       A                          G
And I looked along the bank but couldn't find where they hide.

Bm                                 D
Well the drugged the river, they searched it up and down.
Bm                               D
Couldn't find his body so they decided that he'd drowned,
A                              G
But I knew better and Wilson bragged around town.

Bm                                 D      
So one night I floated down right above Wilson's shack.
Bm                        D
I hid in the woods til I saw him walk out back.
          A                    G
I put a bullet in his head, dropped him in his tracks...
    D   A             Bm  D  Bm  D  A  G
And we went down the river...

Bm                                 D
Down below the tressel, where the water runs slow,
Bm                         D
I chained him to an anvil then I let him go.
     A                G
And five years later, I ain't told a soul.

Bm                          D
I ain't done much fishin', hardly wet a line.
Bm                                 D
The death of my brother is still heavy on my mind.
            A                              G
I've been thinkin' Wilson's cousin better find a place to hide...
       D         A        Bm      D         A              Bm
Cause I'm goin' down the river...yeah, I'm goin' down the river.
D  Bm (until end of song)