Oh, I'll never swim Kern River again   It was there that I met her   It was there that I lost my best friend      And now I live in the mountains   I drifted up here with the wind   I may drown in the still water   But I'll never swim Kern River again      I grew up in an oil town   But my gusher never came in   And the river was a boundary   Where my darlin' and I used to swim      One night in the moonlight   The swiftness swept her life away   And now I live on Lake Shasta   And Lake Shasta is where I will stay      There's the great San Joaquin   Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found   And there's a place called Mount Whitney   From where the mighty Kern River comes down      But 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      Oh, I'll never swim Kern River again   It was there that I met her   It was there that I lost my best friend      And 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