Big River Lyrics
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky.
And the tears that I cried for that woman are gonna flood you Big River.
Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die.
And it tore me up every time I heard her drawl, Southern drawl.
Then I heard my dream was back Downstream cavortin' in Davenport,
And I followed you, Big River, when you called.
A freighter said she's been here
But she's gone, boy, she's gone.
I found her trail in Memphis,
But she just walked up the block.
She raised a few eyebrows and then she went on down alone.
River Queen, roll it on.
Take that woman on down to New Orleans, New Orleans.
Go on, I've had enough;
Dump my blues down in the gulf.
She loves you, Big River, more than me.
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky.
And the tears that I cried for that woman are gonna flood you Big River.
Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die.
Very simple...It's just a simple song about a woman. Johnny wasn't one for hidden meanings...He was a straight shooter.
Well, it's obviously about a woman, but it's like he's talking it out with the river, which she followed to get wherever (Davenport, St. Louis, Baton Rouge,etc.). And then it seemed like she cared more about the places she went (pretty much where the river took her) than she did about him, hence, "She loves you, Big River, more than me." But it said in Walk The Line (the movie), towards the end of the movie that their farm did get flooded, but this song doesn't really seem to be about that.
aren't all the places in this song on the missippi river i could be wrong but it sounds right
Lyrics given on this site: “ A freighter said she's been here But she's gone, boy, she's gone.” ——- I’m hearing: “Operator said she's been here But she's gone, boy, she's gone.”
Note: That’s ‘operator’ as in ‘riverboat operator’. PS: How would a freighter know about passengers on a ‘people’ riverboat?
@Oidua In some live renditions, Johnny clearly says “a freighter”. I wonder if it was originally written as “operator”, but when people questioned him as to what a telephone operator has to do with it, Johnny changed it to “a freighter “.
@Oidua In some live renditions, Johnny clearly says “a freighter”. I wonder if it was originally written as “operator”, but when people questioned him as to what a telephone operator has to do with it, Johnny changed it to “a freighter “.
This site says: “I found her trail in Memphis, But she just walked up the block.” ——- I’m hearing: “I found her trail in Memphis, But she just walked up the bluff” ——- There are many bluffs along the Mississippi, but Memphis in particular is known as Bluff City. If she had just walked up the ‘block’, he could easily have caught her up. (Just sayin’)
Great song. I heard it was about a flood that covered the farm where he grew up.
Have you listened to the lyrics? It is clearly about a female.
"Have you listened to the lyrics? It is clearly about a female."
Oh really? It's about Heroin, idiot.
[quote]Oh really? It's about Heroin, idiot. [/quote]
where do you see heroin references?
jetset is right its not about heroin just a woman he met