Demo mode — real UI, fake students. Buttons show a preview toast instead of saving.

Back to demo dashboard
← Back to dashboard
A2.2·rock·4:59

The River

Bruce Springsteen · 1980

The River by Bruce Springsteen (1980) — selected for the English-through-music catalog. Use the sing-along prompts and exercises to drill pronunciation, vocabulary, and listening comprehension.

💡 Click the CC button on the player for synced captions.

⏱ Timestamps may not be synchronized — edit them via Personalize on the Songs menu.

Lyrics + translation · letras.mus.br

🎤 Sing along

Sing with the chorus

  • And into the river we'd dive
  • Oh-oh, down to the river we'd ride
  • Then I got Mary pregnant
  • And, man, that was all she wrote

Sing it again — final chorus

  • And into the river we'd dive
  • Oh-oh, down to the river we did ride, ay-ay-ay
riverwe'dmary

Definitions: Cambridge Dictionary · Translation: MyMemory

Exercises

Exercise 1

Fill the blank in this line:

Where,when you're young

Exercise 2

Fill the blank in this line:

Down to where thewere green

Exercise 3

Fill the blank in this line:

Noday smiles, no walk down the aisle

Exercise 4

Fill the blank in this line:

For theCompany

Exercise 5

Fill the blank in this line:

Well, mister, theyright into the air

Exercise 6

Fill the blank in this line:

Theyme like a curse

Exercise 7

Translate this line to Portuguese:

I come from down in the valley

Exercise 8

Translate this line to Portuguese:

They bring you up to do

Exercise 9

Translate this line to Portuguese:

When she was just 17

Exercise 10

Translate this line to Portuguese:

We'd go down to the river

Exercise 11

Translate this line to Portuguese:

Oh-oh, down to the river we'd ride

Exercise 12

Choose the missing word:

Where, ? when you're young

Exercise 13

Choose the missing word:

And into the ? we'd dive

Exercise 14

Choose the missing word:

That ? we went down to the river

Exercise 15

Choose the missing word:

Well, mister, they ? right into the air

Exercise 16

Choose the missing word:

Now ? memories come back to haunt me

Exercise 17

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 18

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 19

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 20

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 21

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 22

How many times do you hear the word "river" in the whole song?

"river"

Exercise 23

How many times do you hear the word "we'd" in the whole song?

"we'd"

Exercise 24

Put these three lines in the order they appear in the song:

  • And, man, that was all she wrote
  • I come from down in the valley
  • Well, mister, they vanished right into the air

Exercise 25

And these three — put them in the order they appear in the song:

  • And into the river we'd dive
  • At night on them banks I'd lie awake
  • Where, mister, when you're young

Exercise 26

Compare "The River" with a Brazilian song you know. Do they share a theme? How do their styles differ?

riverwe'dmaryride

Exercise 27

If you could change the ending of the story told in "The River", what would happen instead?

riverwe'dmaryride

Exercise 28

Describe the mood of "The River" in three adjectives. What part of the song makes you feel that way?

riverwe'dmaryride

Exercise 29

Write the full form of each contraction:

  • you're→
  • don't→
  • i'd→

Exercise 30

Which single word from this song do you think carries the most emotional weight, and why?

riverwe'dmaryride