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Ol' man river, |
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Dat ol' man river |
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He mus'know sumpin' |
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But don't say nuthin', |
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He jes'keeps rollin' |
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He keeps on rollin' along. |
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He don' plant taters/tators, |
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He don't plant cotton, |
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An' dem dat plants'em |
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is soon forgotten, |
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But ol'man river, |
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He jes keeps rollin'along. |
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You an'me, we sweat an' strain, |
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Body all achin' an' racket wid pain, |
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Tote dat barge! |
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Lif' dat bale! |
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Git a little drunk |
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An' you land in jail. |
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Ah gits weary |
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An' sick of tryin' |
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Ah'm tired of livin' |
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An' skeered of dyin', |
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But ol' man river, |
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He jes'keeps rolling' along. |
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(Colored folks work on de Mississippi, |
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Colored folks work while de white folks play, |
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Pullin' dose boats from de dawn to sunset, |
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Gittin' no rest till de judgement day. |
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or musical part) |
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Don't look up |
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An' don't look down, |
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You don' dast make |
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De white boss frown. |
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Bend your knees |
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An'bow your head, |
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An' pull date rope |
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Until you' dead.) |
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Let me go 'way from the Mississippi, |
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Let me go 'way from de white man boss; |
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Show me dat stream called de river Jordan, |
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Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross. |
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O' man river, |
|
Dat ol' man river, |
|
He mus'know sumpin' |
|
But don't say nuthin' |
|
He jes' keeps rollin' |
|
He keeps on rollin' along. |
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Long ol' river forever keeps rollin' on... |
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He don' plant tater, |
|
He don' plant cotton, |
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An' dem dat plants 'em |
|
Is soon forgotten, |
|
but ol' man river, |
|
He jes' keeps rollin' along. |
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Long ol' river keeps hearing dat song. |
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You an' me, we sweat an' strain, |
|
Body all achin an' racked wid pain. |
|
Tote dat barge! |
|
Lif' dat bale! |
|
Git 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 jes'keeps rollin' along! |
