Kern River

I'll never swim Kern River again
 It was there that I met him
 There that I lost my best friend
 Now I live in the mountains
 I drifted up here with the wind
 And I may drown in still water
 But I'll never swim Kern River again
 He grew up in an oil town
 But that gusher never came in
 And the river was a boundary
 Where my darling and I used to swim
 One night in the moonlight
 The swiftness swept his life away
 Now I live on Lake Shasta
 And Lake Shasta is where I will stay
 There's the South San Joaquin
 Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found
 And there's a place called Mt. Whitney
 From where the mighty Kern River comes down
 Now it's not deep nor wide
 But it's a mean piece of water my friend
 And I may cross on the highway
 But I'll never swim Kern River again
 I'll never swim Kern River again
 It was there that I met him
 There that I lost my best friend
 Now I live in the mountains
 I drifted up here with the wind
 And I may drown in still water
 But I'll never swim Kern River again
 I'll never swim Kern River again
 It was there that I met him
 There that I lost my best friend
 Now I live in the mountains
 I drifted up here with the wind
 And I may cross on the highway
 But I'll never swim Kern River again
 No, I'll never swim Kern River again