Dave Van Ronk had met Joni Mitchell very early in her career when she was living in Detroit and performing with her first husband, Chuck Mitchell (Dave’s first impression, upon hearing her sing “Urge for Going”: “It was simply magical, and by the middle of the second verse, you could hear a pin drop...
It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
Singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river I could skate away on
But it don't snow here
It stays pretty green
I'm gonna make a lot of money
And quit this crazy scene
I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to run; fly
I wish I had a river I could skate away on
She tried hard to help me
And put me at ease
And she loved me so naughty
Made me weak in the knees
I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I'm so hard to handle
I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've lost the bеst woman
That I ever had
I wish I had a river I could skatе away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to run; fly
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
My baby said goodbye
River was written by Joni Mitchell.