Mighty Mississippi

I met a man in Tucson about a day or so ago
He said, "Hey man, can I interest you in this here transistor radio?"
I said, "Hmm, nope, you see I got this here guitar"
He said, "Play for me, play for me one of your more worldly songs"
I said, "I haven't been around the world, but I wrote a million songs

I haven't been to Portland, I haven't been to Spain
And I would love to see Moscow in it's cold November rain
But I've been down, down the Mighty Mississippi River
To the Gulf of Mexico

The moon was hanging brightly and the moon was hanging high
The mighty river muddy, black like a sin-filled midnight sky
I met with a stranger with a stifling laughter and one magnetic eye
He said, "Hey son, I've got a deal for you, a deal for you have I"

"You can take it, you can leave it, you can borrow, you can steal it"
"What's the price you say?" "Son," he said, "for your heavenly soul
"I'll make you king for a day, and that day will last a lifetime So, c'mon, whataya say?

And we went down, down the Mighty Mississippi River
To the Gulf of Mexico

I overheard a passenger say the devil plays guitar
He lures in the lonely souls with sweet music from afar
But he's a liar and a cheater and a dealer and a stealer
He's stealing the baby's candy. A gentleman, a gentleman
Some might say, but if you ask me, I wish he'd go away
And we went down, down the Mighty Mississippi River
To the Gulf of Mexico

I went back to the stranger and he took out his guitar.
He said, "Hey son, I've got a deal for you, now think this through real hard
"If you play me a song that can make me laugh, you get this here guitar
But if you make me cry, well, my oh my, kiss your sweet ass good-bye!"

And we went down, down the Mighty Mississippi River
To the Gulf of Mexico
Call me, Lord, the devil's come a'knockin'
Is it time for me to go?
As we went down, down the Mighty Mississippi River
To the Gulf of Mexico