[G] Mama said don't go [C] near that river
[G] Don't be hangin' round old Catfish [D] John
[G] Come the mornin' I'd [C] always be there
[G] Walkin' in his footsteps in the [D] sweet delta [G] dawn. 

Take me [C] back to another [G] home
To a [C] time so long [G] ago
When the [C] sweet magnolias [G] blossomed
Cotton [G] fields were [D] white as [G] snow 

Catfish John was a river hobo
Livin' back by the river's bend
Lookin' back I still remember
I was proud to be his friend 

Born a slave in the town of Richmond
Traded for a chesnut mare
Though he never spoke in anger
Oh his soul was hard to bear