Ol ' Man River `` Ol ' Man River '' ( music by Jerome Kern , lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II ) is a song in the 1927 musical Show Boat that tells the story of African American hardship and struggles of the time . It is the most famous song in the show . It was first performed live by Jules Bledsoe in December 1927 , and the most famous version of this song , one that is still noted today , was sung by Paul Robeson in James Whale 's 1936 film version of Show Boat ( Robeson had performed the song several times before this film though , even recording it with Paul Whiteman 's orchestra back in 1928 ) . Many musicians and musical groups have covered the song , including Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra , and it is considered an American classic . William Warfield sang it in the 1951 film version of Show Boat . Robeson 's alterations to the song lyrics Beginning in about 1938 , and continuing on to the end of his career , Paul Robeson changed a few of the lyrics of `` Ol ' Man River '' when singing it at recitals , though never in actual stage performances of Show Boat . [ ] ( Robeson appeared onstage in the musical in 1928 , 1932 , and 1940 . ) And except for the change in the lyrics of the word `` niggers '' to `` darkies '' , the lyrics of the song as performed in the 1936 film version of the show remain exactly as Oscar Hammerstein II originally wrote them in 1927 . The original lyrics to the main section of the song are as follows : Dere 's an ol ' man called de Mississippi , Dat 's de ol ' man dat I 'd like to be , What does he care if de world 's got troubles ? What does he care if de land ai n't free ? Ol ' Man River , Dat Ol ' Man River , He mus ' know sumpin' , But don ' say nothin' ; He jes ' keeps rollin' , He keeps on rollin ' along . He do n't plant taters , He do n't plant cotton , An ' dem dat plants 'em Is soon forgotten , But Ol ' Man River , He jes ' keeps rollin ' along . You an ' me , we sweat an ' strain , Body all achin ' and racked with pain . `` Tote dat barge ! Lift dat bale ! `` Git a little drunk , An ' you lands in jail ! Ah gits weary , An ' sick o ' tryin' , Ah 'm tired o ' livin' , And skeered o ' dyin' , But Ol ' Man River , He jes ' keeps rollin ' along ! In the 1951 film version of Show Boat , as well as the 1962 studio recording , Warfield sang only the above printed lyrics to the song , and omitted the rest , in contrast to both Jules Bledsoe ( who sang it in the 1929 film version ) , and Robeson , who sang the whole song in the 1936 film . Robeson 's changes in the lyrics of the song are as follows : 1 . Instead of `` Dere 's an ol ' man called de Mississippi , / Dat 's de ol ' man that I 'd like to be ... `` , Robeson sang `` There 's an ol ' man called the Mississippi , / That 's the ol ' man I do n't like to be '' ... `` 2 . Instead of `` Tote that barge ! / Lift that bale ! / Git a little drunk , / An ' you land in jail ... `` , Robeson sang `` Tote that barge and lift dat bale ! / You show a little grit and / You lands in jail ... `` 3 . Instead of `` Ah gits weary / An ' sick of tryin' ; / Ah 'm tired of livin ' / An skeered of dyin' , / But Ol ' Man River , / He jes ' keeps rolling along ! `` , Robeson sang `` But I keeps laffin'/ Instead of cryin ' / I must keep fightin' ; / Until I 'm dyin' , / And Ol ' Man River , / He 'll just keep rollin ' along ! `` In recitals and in several of his many recordings of the song , Robeson also omitted the controversial section `` Niggers all work on de Mississippi ... `` , etc. , with its middle portion `` Do n't look up/ An ' do n't look down/ You do n't dast make / De white boss frown '' , etc. , as well as its concluding `` Lemme go ' way from de Mississippi/ Lemme go ' way from de white man boss , etc. '' . However , Robeson did include a portion of these lyrics in the 1932 4-record 78 RPM album of selections from Show Boat . These changes shift Robeson 's portrayal of Joe away from a resigned and sad character who is succeptible to the forces of his world , to one who is timelessly empowered and able to persevere through even the most trying circumstances . Frank Sinatra famously changed the `` Nigggers all work on de Mississippi ... `` to `` Here we all work on the Mississippi ... `` in his version of the song . Parodies and References A parody version was performed on CBS Radio by Stan Freberg and Daws Butler circa 1960 , entitled `` Elderly Man River . '' The parody lampooned what would today be termed `` political correctness `` by featuring a prudish censor from the `` Citizen 's Radio Board '' who repeatedly interrupts Freberg 's performance of the song to criticize ( and insist on changes on ) the grammar and appropriateness of the song 's lyrics . In The Simpsons episode Simpsons Tall Tales , Doctor Julius Hibbert is featured as a steamboat captain singing Ol ' Man River . The Australian oddball pop group TISM produced in 1996 a hit single about River Phoenix and his death , entitled ( He 'll Never Be An ) Ol ' Man River . In the animated short Mississippi Hare , some of which takes place on a Mississippi riverboat , a riverboat gambler named Colonel Shuffle threatens to throw Bugs Bunny into `` Ol ' Man River '' . In the 1947 film version of James Thurber 's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty , Danny Kaye , during one of Mitty 's fantasies , performs a number called `` Fashions by Anatol '' , which contains the parodistic ( and somewhat irrelevant ) line Tote dat barge ! Lift dat veil ! , referring of course , to a woman 's veil . The film also contains a reference to Show Boat ' s Gaylord Ravenal , by including a Mississippi riverboat sequence in which Mitty ( Kaye ) imagines himself as riverboat gambler Gaylord Mitty . In a politically incorrect Daffy Duck cartoon , Daffy suddenly appears as an old black slave , and in dialect , speaks the line Tote dat barge ! Lift dat bale ! In a Snagglepuss cartoon , Snagglepuss also says the line for no real reason ( but not in dialect ) . In an episode of Family Guy , ( Brian Goes Back to College ) , Ashlee Simpson is about to start miming a song when the song changes to Ol ' Man River . Singer Patti LuPone sang this song in her concert Coulda , Woulda , Shoulda stating `` There were only two things standing between me and this role '' Categories : Songs from musicals | 1927 songs | The Beach Boys songs 