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Lead Belly

Old Man

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Old Man Lyrics

Old man, I'm going up the Mississippi
Yes I am, yes I am
Old man, I'm going up the Mississippi
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am

I'm gonna sail on that Big Della Lee
Yes I am, yes I am
I'm gonna sail on that Big Della Lee, sir
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am

Old man, will your dog catch a rabbit?
Take him an' try him
You can take him an' try him
Old man, will your dog catch a rabbit?
Take him an' try him
You can take him an' try him
You can take him an' try him, buddy
You can take him an' try him

Old man, will your horse tote double?
Take him an' try him
You can take him an' try him
Old man, will your horse tote double?
You can take him an' try him, buddy
You can take him an' try him

Old man, will your daughter take company?
I don't know, I don't know
Old man, will your daughter take company?
I don't know, buddy, I don't know

I'm gonna sail up the Mississippi river
Yes I am, yes I am
I'm sailin' up the Mississippi river
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am

I'm gonna sail on that Big Della Lee, sir
Yes I am, yes I am
I'm gonna sail on that Big Della Lee, sir
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am

Submitted by

mellow_harsher On Aug 09, 2024

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They Hung Him On A Cross

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Pick a Bale of Cotton

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Old man, I'm going up the Mississippi
Yes I am, yes I am
Old man, I'm going up the Mississippi
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am

I'm gonna sail on that Big Della Lee
Yes I am, yes I am
I'm gonna sail on that Big Della Lee, sir
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am

Old man, will your dog catch a rabbit?
Take him an' try him
You can take him an' try him
Old man, will your dog catch a rabbit?
Take him an' try him
You can take him an' try him
You can take him an' try him, buddy
You can take him an' try him

Old man, will your horse tote double?
Take him an' try him
You can take him an' try him
Old man, will your horse tote double?
You can take him an' try him, buddy
You can take him an' try him

Old man, will your daughter take company?
I don't know, I don't know
Old man, will your daughter take company?
I don't know, buddy, I don't know

I'm gonna sail up the Mississippi river
Yes I am, yes I am
I'm sailin' up the Mississippi river
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am

I'm gonna sail on that Big Della Lee, sir
Yes I am, yes I am
I'm gonna sail on that Big Della Lee, sir
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am
Yes I am, buddy, yes I am

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Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

Mellow_Harsher

Submitter

2024-08-09 16:03:45

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