Catfish John
Bob McDill & Allen Reynolds, 1972
verse
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D
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chorus
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(D)
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(5)
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(G)
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(1)
chorus
Mama said don't go near that river.
Don't be hangin' around old catfish John.
But come the morning I'd always be there,
Walking in his footsteps in sweet delta dawn.
Born a slave in the town of Vicksburg,
Traded for a chestnut mare,
He never spoke a word in anger,
Though his load was hard to bear.
Catfish John was a river hobo.
He lived and died on the river bend.
Thinkin' back I still remember,
I was proud to be his friend.
Bring me back to another morning,
To a time so long ago,
Where the sweet magnolias blossomed,
And cotton fields were white as snow.