Red River Shore (Unreleased Version #2, "Time Out of Mind") Lyrics

Some of us turn off the lights and we live
In the moonlight shooting by
Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark
To be where the angels fly

Pretty maids all in a row lined up
Outside my cabin door
I've never wanted any of them wanting me
Except the girl from the red river shore

Well, I sat by her side and for a while I tried
To make that girl my wife
She gave me her best advice and she said
"Go home and lead a quiet life

Well, I've been to the east and I've been to the west
I've been out where the black winds roar
Somehow, though, I never did get that far
With the girl from the red river shore

Now, I knew when I first laid eyes on her
I could never be free
One look at her and I knew right away
She should always be with me

Well, the dream dried up a long time ago
Don't know where it is anymore
True to life, and true to me
Was the girl from the red river shore

Now I'm wearing the cloak of misery
And I've tasted jilted love
The frozen smile upon my face
Fits me like a glove

But I can't escape from the memory
Of the one that I'll always adore
All those nights when I lay in the arms
Of the girl from the red river shore

And we're living in the shadows of a fading past
Trapped in the fires of time
I've tried not to ever hurt anybody
To stay out of a life of crime

When it's all been said and done
I never did know the score
One more day is another day away
From the girl from the red river shore

I'm a stranger here in a strange land
I know this is where I belong
I'll ramble and gamble for the one I love
And the hills will give me a song

Nothing looks that familiar to me
Though I know that I've stayed here before
One time, a thousand nights ago
With the girl from the red river shore

I went back once to see about her
Went back to straighten it out
Everybody that I talked to, who had seen us there
Said they didn't know who I was talking about

Well, the sun went down on me a long time ago
I've had to fall back from the door
I wish I could have spent every hour of my life
With the girl from the red river shore

Now, I've heard of a guy who lived a long time ago
A man full of sorrow and strife
That if someone around him died and was dead
He knew how to bring 'em on back to life
I don't know what kind of language he used
Or if they do that kind of thing anymore
Sometimes, I think nobody ever saw me here at all
Except the girl from the red river shore