Now I had a teacher when I went to school
She loved the river, and she taught about it too
I'se a pretty bad boy, but she called my bluff
With her great big collection of steamboat stuff
Oh, yeah

She had log-books and bells and the things like that
And she knew the old captains and where they were at
She rode the Alabama and the Gordon C. Green
As the Cape Giraudoux, she was later renamed
Uh-huh

But her very favoritе, as you all know
Was the Golden Eagle, Captain Buck's old boat
This old stеrn wheeler sank and went to heaven
When I was in the fourth grade, in nineteen forty-seven
Uh-huh

Well, now, fast people in St. Louis society
A-takin' a trip on the Mississippi
Sleepin' in their bunks after an after-dinner drink
They didn't think the boat would sink
Oh, no

Well, I know Captain Buck was a very sad man
When that old wooden hull went into the sand
And Miss Ferris was sad for sure
But immediately, her mind went to work
Oh, yeah
Well, she did some politicking that was tricky and hard
And she got the pilot house for the schoolhouse yard
And so, instead of studying, I became a dreamer
Dreaming 'bout boats and the Mississippi River
Uh-huh

I had to work real hard to get my school work done
'Cause you could not fool Mis Ferris none
And, if I went to sleep or I were not supposed to talk
Oh, she was a dead shot with a little piece of chalk. Uh-huh

Oh me, oh my, how the time does fly
Time and the river keep a-rollin' on by
Now, I am not a student and she is not a teacher
But, we both still love the Mississippi River
Uh, huh

Well, I went to see her this Christmas last
We took a little trip back through the past
On the easy rocker we looked at pictures
And we dreamed our dreams of the Mississippi River
Uh-huh

Oh me, oh my, how the time does fly
Time and the river keep a-rollin' on by
Now, I am not a student and she is not a teacher
But, we both still love the Mississippi River
Uh, huh