River Lady (A Little Goodbye) Lyrics

The day the river freezes
is the day it won't seem fair,
'cos they'll come to get the river lady
and I don't think they'll care.
I know they'll scrape her paint off
in their same old foolish ways,
now the people see the river
but the old ship's gone away.

Water turns cold and gets to freezin',
before you even know it the old girl's easin',
away from her berth, round by the point
and out of our view,
off in the mist her engines poundin',
back on the banks that old horn's sounding
a little good-bye,
a little I'll do what I must do,
a little good-bye,
a little I'll do what I must do.
I know I will remember
when I cannot hear that horn
That would roll up by the mountains
as she took us through the storm.

I know they've got to take her
but I can't say I approve,
'cos she's won so many battles
that I hate to see her lose.
Water turns cold and gets to freezin',
before you even know it the old girl's easin',
away from her berth, round by the point
and out of our view,
off in the mist her engines poundin',
back on the banks that old horn's sounding
a little good-bye,
a little I'll do what I must do,
a little good-bye,
a little I'll do what I must do.