But I'll never swim Kern River again
From where the mighty Kern River comes down
I drifted up here with the wind
The swiftness swept her life away
But now it's not deep nor wide
It was there that I met her
One night in the moonlight
I drifted up here with the wind
Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found
And now I live on Lake Shasta
I may drown in the still water
Where my darlin' and I used to swim
But my gusher never came in
And the river was a boundary
And now I live in the mountains
It was there that I lost my best friend
Oh, I'll never swim Kern River again
And I may drown in still water
It was there that I lost my best friend
Publisher: SONY/ATV SONGS D/B/A TREE PUBG CO
And Lake Shasta is where I will stay
It was there that I met her
But I'll never swim Kern River again
And I may cross on the highway
I grew up in an oil town
And now I live in the mountains
Oh, I'll never swim Kern River again
There's the great San Joaquin
And there's a place called Mount Whitney
But it's a mean piece of water, my friend
Songwriter: Merle Haggard
But I'll never swim Kern River again