Well me and Mark Twain were havin' us a ball Tellin' each other lies, floatin' down from Hannibal With a bottle and a worm and a cane Oh, we were fishin' for secrets where the catfish crawl The Mississippi River flowin' downstream We could go from Mexico Somewhere downstream Meet the Atlantic Ocean Somewhere downstream Go to meet you in the water Somewhere downstream Well, we picked a pair of Truman floatin' down from Independence We said, what about the war? He said, good riddance We said, what about the bomb? Are you sorry that you did it? He said, pass me that bottle and mind your own business And the Mississippi River flowin' downstream We could go from Mexico Somewhere downstream Meet the Atlantic Ocean Somewhere downstream Go to meet you in the water Somewhere downstream We were out on St. Louis and headin' for the coast When we picked up Chuck Berry in a little rowboat With one oar in the water and one in the air A lightning rod for a white guitar And lightning struck once And lightning struck twice And I said, if there's a God He sure ain't nice Chuck said, God is an Indian giver I don't trust nothin' but the Mississippi River And the Mississippi River flowin' downstream We could go from Mexico Somewhere downstream Meet the Atlantic Ocean Somewhere downstream Go to meet you in the water Somewhere downstream The Mississippi River flowin' downstream We could go from Mexico Somewhere downstream Meet the Atlantic Ocean Somewhere downstream Go to meet you in the water Somewhere downstream Go to meet you in the water Somewhere downstream