he was a coal miner in the spring

blinded with its dusty resolutions

broke his back for higher contributions

now he'd take anything

well she was 1970

burning like a cigarette long season

heir to her family's old treasons

she makes love hard like an enemy

oh ma he's dying



chorus

and the river don't sleep

when the water runs cold

and the calendar burns

as the story unfolds

and the valley spans miles

when the mountain stands high

can't they let us run wild

for another midnight



perhaps we're election day

pumping hands and kissing all the babies

ain't no time for shadowed doubts or maybes

is there another way?

or we're a stolen Cadillac

racing for a roadblock in the distance

flashing by a lifetime in an instance

can we take it all back?

oh ma he's dying

oh ma he's dying



and the river don't sleep...



can we take it back



and the valley spans miles

when the mountain stands high

can't they let us run wild

for another midnight