Well I started out to be a towboat man but I never got the hang of a ratchet bar
I was a growin' up a-deckin' in the Illinois trade with coal dust in my ear
I got stuck in the ice on Christmas Eve and I froze my ass it's true
Just ashiverin' and a-shakin' with a down South case of them steamboat whistle blues
Oh Captain Way I'm sorry my hat is off to you
You've been a hanging out by the old cook stove with the steamboat whistle blues

Well way up North I called your phone but I didn't get no one to answer
So I opened up the window and I smoked a little bit and I watched the cars go by
I'm gonna hunt you up and ask you If you found out anything new
Or are you a-hangin' to the best you have with the steamboat whistle blues
I've been right here since nine o'clock and believe you me that's true
Just a lookin at the waterways churning with the steamboat whistle blues

Well the city's growing up where it looks all square like a crossword puzzle on the landscape
It looks like an electric shaver now where the courthouse used to be
The grass is all synthetic and we don't know for sure about the food
The only thing we know for sure is them steamboat whistle blues
I'd sit and watch my TV if I thought I could trust the news
About the only thing I trust these days is them steamboat whistle blues

Well far out Johnny well I heard him say as he stretched out back on the water bed
Bluegrass music is a thing of the past and the same for rock and roll
And I loaned him two or three dollars and he gave me the latest news
And he left me here with a Rolling Stone and the steamboat whistle blues
I'll tear off down the river some day before I'm through
Then come back here and see it out with the steamboat whistle blues