Ol' Man River

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"Ol' Man River" (music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) is a song in the 1927 musical Show Boat that tells the story of African American hardship and struggles of the time. It is the most famous song in the show. It was first performed live by Jules Bledsoe in December 1927, and the most famous version of this song, one that is still noted today, was sung by Paul Robeson in James Whale's 1936 film version of Show Boat (Robeson had performed the song several times before this film though, even recording it with Paul Whiteman's orchestra back in 1928). Many musicians and musical groups have covered the song, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Ray Charles, and it is considered an American classic. William Warfield sang it in the 1951 film version of Show Boat, another rendition which became very famous. (Warfield repeated it throughout his career.) Famous bass singer of The Temptations, Melvin Franklin was known to sing this at most concerts, which eventually became his signature song.

[edit] Robeson's alterations to the song lyrics

Beginning in about 1938, and continuing on to the end of his career, Paul Robeson changed a few of the lyrics of "Ol' Man River" when singing it at recitals, though never in actual stage performances of Show Boat. [[1]] (Robeson appeared onstage in the musical in 1928, 1932, and 1940.) And except for the change in the lyrics of the word "niggers" to "darkies," the lyrics of the song as performed in the 1936 film version of the show remain exactly as Oscar Hammerstein II originally wrote them in 1927.

The original lyrics to the main section of the song are as follows:

Dere's an ol' man called de Mississippi,
 Dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be,
 What does he care if de world's got troubles?
 What does he care if de land ain't free?

Ol' Man River,
 Dat Ol' Man River,
 He mus' know sumpin',
 But don' say nothin';
 He jes' keeps rollin',
 He keeps on rollin' along.

He don't 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' and racked with pain.
 "Tote dat barge! Lift dat bale!"
 Git a little drunk,
 An' you lands in jail!

Ah gits weary,
 An' sick o' tryin',
 Ah'm tired o' livin',
 And skeered o' dyin',
 But Ol' Man River,
 He jes' keeps rollin' along!

In the 1951 film version of Show Boat, as well as the 1962 studio recording and the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of the show, Warfield sang only the above printed lyrics to the song, and omitted the rest, in contrast to both Jules Bledsoe (who sang it in the 1929 film version), and Robeson, who sang the whole song in the 1936 film. The section that Warfield omitted begins:

Niggers all work on de Mississippi,
 Niggers all work while de white folks play...

In the 1936 film, the world "niggers" was changed to "darkies". Ever since the 1946 revival, the term has been changed to "colored folks", although there have been revivals that change the line to Here we all work on de Mississippi.


Robeson's own changes in the lyrics of the song are as follows:

1. Instead of "Dere's an ol' man called de Mississippi, / Dat's de ol' man that I'd like to be...", Robeson sang "There's an ol' man called the Mississippi, / That's the ol' man I don't like to be"..."

2. Instead of "Tote that barge! / Lift that bale! / Git a little drunk, / An' you land in jail...", Robeson sang "Tote that barge and lift dat bale!/ You show a little grit and / You lands in jail..."

3. Instead of "Ah gits weary / An' sick of tryin'; / Ah'm tired of livin' / An skeered of dyin', / But Ol' Man River, / He jes' keeps rolling along!" , Robeson sang "But I keeps laffin'/ Instead of cryin' / I must keep fightin'; / Until I'm dyin', / And Ol' Man River, / He'll just keep rollin' along!"

In recitals and in several of his many recordings of the song, Robeson also omitted the controversial section "Niggers all work on de Mississippi...", etc., with its middle portion "Don't look up/ An' don't look down/ You don't dast make / De white boss frown", etc., as well as its concluding "Lemme go ' way from de Mississippi/ Lemme go ' way from de white man boss, etc." . However, Robeson did include a portion of these lyrics in the 1932 4-record 78 RPM album of selections from Show Boat.


The changes in Robeson's concert renditions of the song shift the portrayal of Joe away from a resigned and sad character who is susceptible to the forces of his world, to one who is timelessly empowered and able to persevere through even the most trying circumstances.

Frank Sinatra famously changed the "Niggers all work on de Mississippi..." to "Here we all work on the Mississippi..." in his version of the song.

[edit] Parodies and References

  • A parody version was performed on CBS Radio by Stan Freberg and Daws Butler circa 1960, entitled "Elderly Man River." The parody lampooned what would today be termed "political correctness" by featuring a prudish censor from the "Citizen's Radio Board" who repeatedly interrupts Freberg's performance of the song to criticize (and insist on changes on) the grammar and appropriateness of the song's lyrics.
  • In an episode of the TV situation comedy Maude, the housekeeper Florida (played by Esther Rolle) sings "Darkies all work while de white folks play" as she does housework. Her politically correct and liberal employer Maude (Beatrice Arthur) scolds her and says that the proper new lyrics to the song are "We all work while the straw dogs play." Florida replies that those may be the new lyrics, but "We all still are working while you white folks still are playing."
  • In the 1947 film version of James Thurber's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Danny Kaye, during one of Mitty's fantasies, performs a number called "Fashions by Anatol", which contains the parodistic (and somewhat irrelevant) line Tote dat barge! Lift dat veil!, referring of course, to a woman's veil. The film also contains a reference to Show Boat's Gaylord Ravenal, by including a Mississippi riverboat sequence in which Mitty (Kaye) imagines himself as riverboat gambler Gaylord Mitty.
  • In a politically incorrect Daffy Duck cartoon, Daffy suddenly appears as an old black slave, and in dialect, speaks the line Tote dat barge! Lift dat bale!
  • In a Snagglepuss cartoon, Snagglepuss also says the line for no real reason (but not in dialect).
  • Singer Patti LuPone sang this song in her concert Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda stating "There were only two things standing between me and this role"
  • During an episode of Futurama, Bender complains about the amount of work he has to do, saying "Yes Miss Leela, no Miss Leela, tote that space barge, lift that space pail."
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