Intro: Bm D Bm D
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Well, I was eighteen, my brother was twenty-one.
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One Saturday evenin' when all the work was done,
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We went down to the river. Had some trot lines we'd run.
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My brother Walter had a fight the week before.
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Knocked a boy name Wilson through the pool hall doors.
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They said you don't mess with Wilson unless you want a war.
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I put the boat in the water and I made the engine run.
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I loaded the lantern against the sinkin' sun.
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And my brother Walter was loadin' his gun...
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And we went down the river...
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Down past the coal docks we were runnin' our line.
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Heard some drunken boaters racin' up behind.
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It was Wilson and his cousin, had trouble on their mind.
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They passed on by us, probably goin' to tend their pot.
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We headed up the river with the fish that we'd caught but,
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Before we made the landing, I thought I heard a shot...
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Back down the river...
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Well my brother Walter fell over the side.
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I couldn't find him no matter how I tried
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And I looked along the bank but couldn't find where they hide.
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Well the drugged the river, they searched it up and down.
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Couldn't find his body so they decided that he'd drowned,
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But I knew better and Wilson bragged around town.
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So one night I floated down right above Wilson's shack.
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I hid in the woods til I saw him walk out back.
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I put a bullet in his head, dropped him in his tracks...
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And we went down the river...
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Down below the tressel, where the water runs slow,
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I chained him to an anvil then I let him go.
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And five years later, I ain't told a soul.
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I ain't done much fishin', hardly wet a line.
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The death of my brother is still heavy on my mind.
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I've been thinkin' Wilson's cousin better find a place to hide...
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Cause I'm goin' down the river...yeah, I'm goin' down the river.
D Bm (repeat)