The River Man 4:33 Dave Adkins

Song Lyrics

John P. Parker lived his life with one foot in the grave
A white man was his father…his mother was a slave
Living in the misery of slavery’s painful grip
His back came to know the bite of a cruel master’s whip

Bought and sold till the Widow Ryder …well she made a deal
To let him earn his freedom in a foundry in Mobile
Then on the banks of the Ohio the best iron man around
Ran that river for the railroad’s secret underground…The River Man

River man was an iron master…by daylight
River man ran a secret freedom train by dark of night
Those who came searching for their promised land
Would cross that water with a helping hand…from The River Man

For fifteen years John put his freedom in harm’s way
He risked his life running that river more and more each day
And with a thousand dollar bounty lying on his head
He rescued many others from the life that he once led…The River Man

CHORUS: (Repeat)

When the war between the states, well it finally came
Men he saved from bondage joined the fight in freedom’s name
Until General Lee surrendered in eighteen sixty-five
‘Tween that foundry and the river, John led a double life…The River Man

CHORUS: (Repeat)