Kern River

I'll never swim Kern River again It was there that I met him There that I lost my best friend Now I live in the mountains I drifted up here with the wind And I may drown in still water But I'll never swim Kern River again He grew up in an oil town But that gusher never came in And the river was a boundary Where my darling and I used to swim One night in the moonlight The swiftness swept his life away Now I live on Lake Shasta And Lake Shasta is where I will stay There's the South San Joaquin Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found And there's a place called Mt. Whitney From where the mighty Kern River comes down Now it's not deep nor wide But it's a mean piece of water my friend And I may cross on the highway But I'll never swim Kern River again I'll never swim Kern River again It was there that I met him There that I lost my best friend Now I live in the mountains I drifted up here with the wind And I may drown in still water But I'll never swim Kern River again I'll never swim Kern River again It was there that I met him There that I lost my best friend Now I live in the mountains I drifted up here with the wind And I may cross on the highway But I'll never swim Kern River again No, I'll never swim Kern River again