Intro: D  G  A  D

D                            G     
I was born and raised on the river
         A                D
It's the only life that I know
                              G
People 'round here have put a name on me
      A                  D
And I hear it wherever I go


             D          G
They call me river boy, river boy
A                 D                         
A good for nothin' river boy
                            G
This old world don't hold a whole lot of joy
            A             D 
When you're nothin' but a river boy


D                            G
I do a lot of fishin' on the river
   A                  D
To make my livin' you see
                            G  
When I take my catch to the market place
    A                  D
The people call out to me


              D              G 
And they say, river boy, hey river boy
A                            D       
You got any fish today there, river boy
D                   G
I sell my ware, but nobody cares 
          A                D 
About the feelings of the river boy


Key Change

 
          E                        A    
There's a pretty girl works at the market place
  B7                 E 
I see her there everyday
    E             A   
But when I try to talk to her 
      B7            E 
I can hear her papa say


                    E         A
Come away from that River boy, he's a river boy
B7                      E
Nothin' but a riff-raff river boy
E                        A
No girl of mine is gonna waste her time
     B7                     E
On a good for nothin' river boy


  E                            A
So I head my boat back up the river
  B7                    E
Back to my old fishin' place
  E                               A
I'm afraid this ol' river's gonna overflow
      B7                      E
From the tears runnin’ down my face


                 E           A
I'm nothin' but a river boy, river boy
B7                E
A good for nothin' river boy
                            A
This old world don't hold a whole lot of joy
            B7                  E
When you're nothin' but a river boy


                            A
This old world don't hold a whole lot of joy
            B7                  E
When you're nothin' but a river boy