Watching the River Go By 
By:  John Hartford - 
Good Old Boys
Chords by:  Verne Garrison
Banjo tuned E, Capo 3  , Key of:G

   G                
Watchin the river go by
  C                  
Watchin the river go by
   G                C    D7       G
Watchin the river go by in the evening
    G                  
Watchin the river go by
    C
Watchin the river go by
    G               C    D7      G
Watchin the river go by in the evening

  G                                C
He was an old bachelor who never married
               G               D7       G
She was an old maid who never married either
                     C                     G      
He was an old school teacher who lived all alone
                   G               D7        G
And she lived next door and she lived alone too

     G                                   C
They'd known each other for all of their lives
                       G                  D7
They played together when they were little kids
            G                  C          D7     G
They both were a'livin in the houses they grew up in
                   C       D7     G
On the banks and facin' the ohio river

And they're
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by in the evening

Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by in the evening

In the long evenings of their middle age
He'd either go to her house or she'd go to his
And they'd sit on the porch side by side completely naked
Never touchin' never ever even as much as holdin' hands

And they'd
Watch the river go by
Watch the river go by
They was a'watchin the river go by in the evening

And they watched the river go by
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by in the evening

He knew all the boats and who was in the crew
She'd listen to old stories that she'd heard so many times
His daddy'd been a captain of a steamboat on the river
That was long ago in his memory

And they were
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by in the evening

Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by in the evening

And the sweet river breeze played around their knees
And caressed ever tightly their skin
And sometimes they'd sit for an hour or so
Or sometimes 'til way past 10

Just watchin the river roll by
Watchin the river roll by
Watchin the river roll by in the evening

Watchin the river roll by
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by in the evening

They didn't do this in the dead of winter
And they didn't do it in the dead of summer either
Cause they didn't want to freeze or get bitten by mosquitos
But some nights it'd be just right and she'd show up in her 
bathrobe And they'd sit in the dark and just

Watch the river roll by
Watchin the river roll by
Watchin the river roll by in the evening

Watchin the river roll by
Watchin the river roll by
Watchin the river roll by in the evening

Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by
Watchin the river go by in the evening