[Verse 1] Sun went down behind the cotton, heat still hanging in the air, mud was heavy on my work boots, sweat was drying in my hair. Old Joe closed the feed store early, said the storm was rolling south, but the boys were by the river and the music had got out. [Groove Turnaround] [bass riff repeats] [muted guitar answers] [fiddle cuts in with a short raspy phrase] [Verse 2] Mary Lou was on the back porch, bare feet tapping on the wood, red dress moving with the rhythm like she knew exactly what it could. She don't dance for anybody, she don't smile unless she means, but when that fiddle starts complaining she can shake the whole damn street. [Chorus] River don't sleep, river don't care, keeps on rolling through the heat like trouble through the air. River don't stop, neither do we, work all day with dirt on our hands, then dance all night till we can't see. [Instrumental Turnaround] [heavy bass groove] [Hammond answers low and dirty] [fiddle and guitar trade short phrases] [Verse 3] There's a preacher near the courthouse, there's a gambler by the mill, there's a woman at the diner who can read you sitting still. Everybody knows your story, every lie and every scar, but they'll still pull up a chair for you when you stumble through the bar. [Bridge] [drums and bass only] Some folks dream about the highway, some folks dream of getting free. [Hammond enters] I ain't saying I won't leave here... [fiddle holds a tense low note] ...just ain't nowhere else I'd rather be. [Instrumental Break] [bass becomes more syncopated] [guitar uses subtle wah accents] [Hammond takes a dark bluesy phrase] [fiddle answers with a rough melodic line] [Final Chorus] River don't sleep, river don't care, keeps on rolling through the heat like trouble through the air. River don't stop, neither do we, work all day with dirt on our hands, then dance all night till we can't see. River don't sleep, and neither do I. [Outro] [bass groove continues] [fiddle repeats a short signature phrase] [Hammond fades beneath it] [natural loose ending]
