Went away up the river some forty mile or more I think I heard that big Jim Lee whistle blow She blow so lonesome, like she wasn't gonna blow no more It blowed just like my baby gettin' on board I'm a poor old boy an' a long way from home And you causin' me to leave my plumb good home My Mama she is dead' and my father well could be I ain't got nobody to feel and care for me If you don't want me just give me your hand And I'll get a woman quick as you can get a man I've got a kid on the wheeler and a brown down in town Got a plumb good man bringing down these gals of mine I laid my head in a steamer woman's arms And she laid her nappy head in mine When I got arrested what do you reckon was my fine? Says they give all coons eleven twenty-nine It was moonshine, don't pay me no mind 'Cause I did not let no coons have mine Well the big Jim Lee keep a-backing up and down Keep standin' by the shore, man, if you're water bound