A                   D          A
Mama said don't go near that river
                                     E
Don't go hangin' around old catfish John
          A            D        A
Come the morning I'd always be there
                                  E          A
Walking in his footsteps in the sweet delta dawn.

A       D                A
Let me dream of another morning
      D            A
Of a time so long ago
          D               A
When the sweet magnolias blossomed
         E                   A
Cotton fields were white as snow.

A        D                A
Catfish John was a river hobo
         D               A
And he lived around the bend
          D              A
Thinkin' back I still remember
        E                 A
I was proud to call him friend.

[Repeat Chorus]
A       D                     A
Born a slave in the town of Vicksburg
        D              A
Traded for a chestnut mare
           D             A
Still he never spoke in anger
             E               A
Though his load was hard to bear.

[Repeat Chorus]
A                                 E          A
Walking in his footsteps in the sweet delta dawn.