O Minnesota, it is September
Time to go and pick potatoes
My back is sore, my legs are aching
And then ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi.
I'll build a raft out of scrap lumber
On the shores of Minneapolis
A canvas tent, a nice air mattress
Away ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi.
I'll wave to all those office buildings
The lawyers and insurance brokers
The cubicles like prison cellblocks
Away ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi.
Along the gorge between the cities
Past the falls of Minnehaha
Round the bend and past Mendota
Away ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi.
The high bridge, then it's downtown St. Paul
The Capitol, St. Paul Cathedral
And round the bend to meet the St. Croix
Away ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi.
I'll float along beneath the willows
Past the fields of cattle grazing
Down to Red Wing and Winona
Away ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi
I'm heading south ... Dubuque, Rock Island
Illinois and down to Cairo
The giant arch that is St. Louis
Away ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi.
I'll work no more, I'll have no address
No cellphone, just the sounds of crickets
My e-mail waits and it expires
Away ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi.
If someone asks if you have seen me
Did I die or move to Phoenix
If someone asks, O won't you tell them
Away ... I'm bound away ... down the Mississippi