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Here we all work, on the Mississippi |
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Here we all work, while the white folk play |
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Pullin' them boats from the dawn till sunset |
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Gettin' no rest till the judgment day |
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Don't look up and don't look down |
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You don't dare make a white man frown |
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Bend your knees and bow your head |
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And pull that rope until you're dead |
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Let me go 'way from the Mississippi |
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Let me go 'way from the white man boss |
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Show me that stream called the River Jordan |
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That's the old stream that I long to cross |
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I know that Ol' Man River, that Ol' Man River |
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He must know somethin', the man don't say nothin' |
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I know he just keep on rollin' |
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I want you to know he keeps on rollin' along |
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He don't plant tatters, he don't plant cotton |
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And them folk they plant 'em |
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I want you to know they're soon forgotten |
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But Ol' Man River, somehow he just keep on rollin', rollin' along |
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You and me, we got to sweat and strain |
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Body's all achin' and racked with pain |
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Tote that barge, somebody said, \"Lift that bail\" |
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You drink a little scotch, I want you to know, you gonna land in jail |
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You know I get weary and so sick of trying |
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I'm tired of livin', but I'm scared, I'm scared of dyin' |
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But that Ol' Man and the river, I say he just |
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The man just keep rollin' on [Incomprehensible] |