Down to the river with The Boss

Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true?

Ironbridge Gorge, Friday 26th January 2024 (Author’s Collection)

Star Date: Friday 26th January 2024
Venue: Ironbridge Gorge, A World Heritage Site
Reason: My son twisted my arm for a bag of chips
Excuse: It’s my spiritual home
Lyrics: Bruce Springsteen

“I come from down in the valley
Where Mister, when you’re young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
When she was just seventeen
We’d ride out of this valley
Down to where the fields were green

We’d go down to the river
And into the river we’d dive
Oh, down to the river, we’d ride”

Sculpture of Tommy Rogers (see further images), some hungry ducks and the River Severn nearly 15 feet higher than its summer height.

Sculpture of Tommy Rogers to commemorate the men of Ironbridge who crafted the river “coracles” of a long ago bygone age.

“Tommy Rogers” and the River Severn stretching to the left and toward Ironbridge.

The “Grand Old Lady” — Part 1.

The “Grand Old Lady” — Part 2.

“Then I got Mary pregnant
And man, that was all she wrote
For my nineteenth birthday
I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
And the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles
No walk down the aisle
No flowers, no wedding dress

That night we went down to the river
And into the river, we’d dive
Oh, down to the river
We did ride, ahi, ahi, ahi”

(1) Three wider shots of the oldest iron bridge in the world.

(2) Three wider shots of the oldest iron bridge in the world.

(3) Three wider shots of the oldest iron bridge in the world.

(1) Ironbridge Gorge - A World Heritage Site.

(2) Ironbridge Gorge - A World Heritage Site.

“I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain’t been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well Mister, they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don’t remember
Mary acts like she don’t care

But I remember us riding in my brother’s car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I’d lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she’d take
Now that memories come back to haunt me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true
Or is it something worse?”

A view from the middle of the bridge — Part 1.

A view from the middle of the bridge — Part 2.

A view from the middle of the bridge — Part 3.

A view from the middle of the bridge — Part 4.

Memorial to the men and women of Ironbridge who sadly lost their lives in the two World Wars.

Be still my beating heart. Welcome, to my spiritual home.

“That sends me down to the river
Though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight, ahi, ahi, ahi
Down to the river
My baby and I
Oh, down to the river, we ride”

"The River" - Bruce Springsteen - Live at Glastonbury 2009

The Boss (stop laughing!) with trademark upside down smile. I was with my son. I was in my spiritual home. And I was happy.

Thanks for reading. There are oodles of similar travel articles within my archives here. Please feel free to take a look around and follow/subscribe. I always reciprocate such kindness.

Take it easy out there everyone.

Peace.

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