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