"Ol' Man River"

Paul Robeson Singing
"Ol' Man River"
from Show Boat (1936)

By Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal.com

Ol' Man River
Paul Robeson Album (1936)

Paul Robeson sings "Ol' Man River"
in movie Show Boat (1936)

Paul Robeson visits Albert Einstein
at his home in Princeton (1947)

Preface: For Song #24, I've selected "Ol' Man River" sang by Paul Robeson from Show Boat (1936).
The music was written by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, published in 1927. The song contrasts the struggles & hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River. It is sung from the point of view of a black stevedore on a showboat, and is the most famous song from the show. The 1936 rendition by Paul Robeson finished No. 24 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs 2004 survey of top tunes in American cinema. (Lyrics). Paul Robeson graduated from Rutgers University (1919) and Columbia Law School (1923). Harry Belafonte mentioned Paul Robeson as his moral compass when he began helping Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement.

Ol' man river
Dat ol' man river
He mus' know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along

He don' plant taters
He don't plant cotton
An' dem dat plants 'em
Is soon forgotten
But ol' man river
He jes keeps rollin' along

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 lands in jail

Ah gits weary
An' sick of tryin'
Ah'm tired of livin'
An' scared of dyin'
But ol' man river
He jes' keeps rolling' along
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(Colored folks work on de Mississippi
Colored folks work while de white folks play
Pullin' dose boats from de dawn to sunset
Gittin' no rest till de judgement day

Don't look up
An' don't look down
You don' dast make
De white boss frown
Bend your knees
An'bow your head
An' pull date rope
Until you' dead.)

Let me go 'way from the Mississippi
Let me go 'way from de white man boss;
Show me dat stream called de river Jordan
Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross

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
Long ol' river forever keeps rollin' on

He don' plant tater
He don' plant cotton
An' dem dat plants 'em
Is soon forgotten
But ol' man river
He jes' keeps rollin' along

Long ol' river keeps hearing dat song
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' scared of dyin'
But ol' man river
He jes' keeps rollin' along!

© Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal.com
June 16, 2023