Mississippi

Mississippi Mississippi got a ribbon river slides on its belly thru the cotton to the delta lappin at the banks like a wild alligator like a whore on her back she’s a devil of an angel so charmed to meet you as it curls by the veranda where the mockingbird screams bought the coronal and Virginia and the ribbon rolls on in the dark throwin sparks like a drown boys ghost neath the eye of Fatima till the air gets hard as a kerosene lantern goes down deeper than the brown and the yellow in a black child’s eyes off the coast of Alabama wet as the mud ‘tween the toes and the marrow of two boys fishin cussing and itchin, talking real big and smoke ring wishin Its in the bone stays with you like a song Mississippi The pull is strong it just goes on and on, on to Mississippi. Mississippi got a ribbon river smells like the shine in a bait shop window long as the wind in an old southern preacher standin on the stump till momma comes to fetch yah where the cracked moon ripples in the black tide water lingers in the shallows like the breath of a lover shimmers like the hover of a white sheet blowin in the breeze while the trees watch the river keep rollin, cutting straight down like an axe blade racin thru some sunken timbers that were lost in a flood that took half of the farms most of the houses left 26 missing and the muddy banks crowded two boys itchin wantin to be fishin, talking real quiet bought’ smoke ring wishes. The pull is strong it just goes on and on Mississippi Its in the bone lives in you like a song Mississippi Mississippi got a ribbon river kill you dead she’s an unforgiver mean as murder and colder than vengeance sad as a convict listenin to his sentence wide as a field of cut you bad cotton pretty as heaven and burnin hell rotten swingin low like a diamond head hangin from a willow sleepy like the way your head falls on a pillow passin two old men with there feet in the water cutting fresh bait swearin on there honor that there must be more than the state of mississippi that damned old river with its air so sticky laughin and fishin, cussing and itchin, talking real big makin’ smoke ring wishes The pull is strong was with me all along Mississippi knew all along id end up comin’ home, home to Mississippi mmmmmmm Released March 9, 2016 Words, Music and Performance - John Reynolds, Recorded at the House Of Bliss, Nashville TN.