Ol' Man River
Willard White and Chorus Lyrics

Dere's an ol' man called de Mississippi
This river, the Mississippi, is a person of its own

Dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be
It's the man he aspires to be since it keeps going on regardless of what happens in the world

What does he care if de world's got troubles
The Mississippi River doesn't care about the problems of the world

What does he care if de land ain't free
It even ignores the injustices the landholders impose on its shores

Ol' man river, dat ol' man river
Old man river, the Mississippi, just keeps rolling and flowing soundly.

He mus' know sumpin', but don't say nuthin'
It observes and knows much, but never communicates anything to anyone

He jes' keeps rollin'
It just keeps on going like an unchanging force of nature

He don' plant taters, he don't plant cotton
Unlike us, the river doesn't need to plant things to survive

An' dem dat plants' em is soon forgotten
The people who plant crops along it are easily replaced by the river's continuous flowing.

But ol'man river
Still, the Mississippi keeps rolling

He jes' keeps rollin' along
Unhindered and unimpeded in its mission

You an' me, we sweat an' strain
Unlike the river, we have to work hard and constant

Body all achin' an' wracked wid pain
At the cost of our own physical and emotional health

Tote dat barge! Lif' dat bale!
We are tasked and must carry heavy loads to keep up.

Git a little drunk an' you lands in jail
If we make mistakes, we're punished by the law.

Ah gits weary an' sick of tryin'
Sometimes, we feel like giving up.

Ah'm tired of livin' an' skeered of dyin'
We fear the end of our lives, feeling like it's all for nothing.

But ol' man river
Again, the Mississippi keeps on moving.

He jes' keeps rolling' along
And that's all we can hope to do as well.