Roll On Sweet Mississippi

Roll on sweet Mississippi deep and wide

You're a river, more than water

And your waters, more than gold

Your ripples are all stories

Which your many sons have told

Your sound is made of drum beats

For which many have fought and died

Your water's made of teardrops

Which your southern people cried

So, roll on sweet Mississippi

Wash the faces of your sons

And bathe them in that golden delta Sun

Yes! And fill them with your spirit

For which dixie heroes die

Roll on sweet Mississippi deep and wide

You have watched the women's faces

As their men went off to die

For their heartland and their country

Never asking why

You have heard the others laughing

At your gentle southern way

Still you keep right on a-rolling

Never carrying what they say

You have clothed and fed your people

In their bodies and their minds

And the warmth of your reflections

Has raised them to be kind

You're a river, more than water

Lord, your waters, more than gold

Oh! You're a mother to the southland

You're a wonder to be hold