Ol' Man River
Words by Oscar Hammerstein, Music by Jerome Kern
(c) 1927 by T.B Harms & Co.
Arrangement by J.P. Befumo 2008
Here we all work 'long the Mississippi,
Here we all work while the white folk play.
Pul-lin' them boats from the dawn till sunset,
Gettin' no rest till the judgment day.
Don't look up and don't look down,
You dast not make the boss man frown.
Bend your knees and bow your head,
And pull that rope until you're dead.
Let me go 'way from the Mississippi,
Let me go 'way from the white man boss.
Show me that stream called the River Jordan,
That's the old stream that I long to cross.
Ol' man river, dat ol' man river,
He must know sumpin', but don't say nuthin';
He jus' keeps rollin' he keeps on rollin' along.
He don't plant 'taters, he don't plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants 'em is soon for-gotten;
But ol' man river, he jus' keeps rollin along.
You an' me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin' an' racked wid pain.
"Tote dat barge! Lift dat bale!"
Get a little drunk an' you land in jail.
Ah gits weary an' sick of tryin',
Ah'm tired of livin', an' skeered of dyin.
But ol' man river, he jus' keeps rollin' a-long.
Ol' man river, dat ol' man river,
He must know sumpin', but don't say nuthin';
He jus' keeps rollin', he keeps on roll-in along.
He don't plant 'taters, he don't plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants 'em is soon forgotten;
But ol' man river, he jus' keeps rollin along.
New things come and old things go,
But all things look the same to Joe
Wars go on and young folks die.
The rest forgets the reason why.
Ah gits weary an' sick of tryin',
Ah'm tired of livin an' skeered of dyin'.
But ol' man river, he jus keeps rollin' along.
The file is here:
MP3: Ol Man River.mp3