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 darlin' 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 Mount Whitney
From where the mighty Kern River comes down
Now, it's not deep or 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 the highway
But I'll never swim Kern River again
No, I'll never swim Kern River again