My granddad used to tell me, "Boy, when I was just your age, I was a river pilot on a showboat called The Stage

I'd hobnob with them southern belles and ev'ry roustabout. I'd listen to them paddle wheels and hear the leadsman shout!

Mark Twain, it's two fathoms deep below. Mark Twain, heave the gang plank. Start the show

Mark Twain, play those banjos as we go down the Mississippi, 'round the Gulf of Mexico

There were gamblers, crooks and fakers and a minstrel man who'd dance. A singin' gal, Simone Lamour, imported straight from France

It was a floatin' palace, boy, that showboat called The Stage, and granddad was the king of it when he was just my age."

Mark Twain, it's two fathoms deep below. Mark Twain, heave the gang plank. Start the show

Mark Twain, play those banjos as we go down the Mississippi, 'round the Gulf of Mexico

The calliope is quiet now. The rudder's thick with rust. The main deck and the paddle wheels are covered high with dust

But granddad's in his glory, still standin' on the bow. A halo 'round his pilot's cap and I can hear him now

Mark Twain, it's two fathoms deep below. Mark Twain, heave the gang plank. Start the show

Mark Twain, play those banjos as we go down the Mississippi, 'round the Gulf of Mexico