Dere's an ol' man
called de Mississippi
Dat's de ol' man
dat I wants to be
What does he care
if de world's got troubles
What does he care
if the land ain't free
Ol' man river
That ol' man river
He mus' know somethin'
But don't say nothin'
He just keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along
He don't plant taters
He don't plant cotton
And dem that plants 'em
is soon forgotten
But ol' man river
He jes keeps rollin' along
You an' me
We sweat n' strain
Body all achin'
an' racked wid pain
Tote dat barge
Lift dat bale
Git a little drunk
An' you lands in jail
Ah gets weary
An' sick of tryin'
I'm tired of livin'
An' scared of dyin'
But ol' man river
He just keeps rollin' along