When I was born I was running As my feet hit the ground Before I could talk I was humming An old railroad sound Things didn't get much better When by the age of five They found me walking into Clarksdale Trying to keep my friends alive No time for celebration Now there's no known cure Seeing I was born and raised On the wrong killing floor And my loved ones gathered round To see the experiment at work I was misplaced out of time Never rich - never worse
Oh momma, please don't cry for me Tears to the river - tears to be free And I see twelve white horses walking in line Moving east across the metal bridge On highway forty-nine And standing in the shadows of a burnt out motel The King of Commerce Mississippia waited with his hound from hell A shiny neon riverboat taking income from the poor It's floating by the levee in an artificial pool There's a six-mile tailback back out of junction 304 A stranger at the crossroads I believe I'd seen his face before Oh, don't cry for me Tears fill the river - tears to be free I'm sad to be leaving The sun's gone down and I've really got to go now Sad to be leaving The sun's gone down - I've really got to go now Yeah, really got to go now I've got to go - I've got to move Sad to be leaving Sun's gone down - I've really got to go now Sad to be leaving The sun's gone down and I've really got to go now Yeah, really got to go now