Lyrics

Well I started out to be a towboatin' man But I never got the hang of a ratchet bar Three weeks at a time up and down the line But I never did get too far So I headed downriver where the music comes from Thinking Memphis or New Orleans I rambled into Nashville town Got a job on the Julia Belle Swain

Sternwheeler blues
I wore holes in my shoes
Dancin' on the deck with Captain John
The fiddle leads the tune
And tonight the moon is new
But tomorrow will be time for movin' on

Well we worked all day on the sternwheel boat Painting trim and cleaning quarters And when the sun went down it took all we had To prep and serve the dinners But when the dishes were clear and the bottle passed round We'd meet up in the parlor The fiddle would play and the string band sound Would bring us all together

Sternwheeler blues
I wore holes in my shoes
Dancin' on the deck with Captain John
The fiddle leads the tune
And tonight the moon is new
But tomorrow will be time for movin' on

Now years have passed since I took that job Running up and down the river And when I stop to think about the goodle days It makes me wonder why Sleeping under stars on a sternwheel boat Will stay with you forever And a fiddleman playing an old time tune Can haunt you through the night

Sternwheeler blues
I wore holes in my shoes
Dancin' on the deck with Captain John
The fiddle leads the tune
And tonight the moon is new
But tomorrow will be time for movin' on