Lyrics

On the banks of Colorado, where the fair May sun does shine
I have come down to this river to meet a love of mine
But the banks are dry and sandy, and the murmuring water’s low
No rain has blessed this valley to ease this river’s flow

In April first I saw her, a year and month ago
She stood in all her splendor on the banks of Colorado
The icy drifts of winter the sun had banished clear
To join with rain and dewdrops and flow beside my dear

No gold in California could ever match her hair
No roses red and blooming to her lips could compare
No sapphires from the Indies could e’er outshine her eyes
No silk could lie as gently as that true love of mine

In springtime there we courted, and in summer did the same
And when autumn changed its colors I resolved to change her name
But her mother scorned my parents and her father scorned my trade
And my winter was made colder for the loss of that fair maid

And so now I walk this valley and sit in willowed shade
And wish that stream would take me beneath its gentle waves
But the clouds have brought no mercy, no grace has brought a flood
So I’ll sit beneath the willows and wait for my true love