When I was young I had a girl so pretty   When I was young I had a girl so true   But you left town, headed out for the city   And you said you were never comin back through      You got a Momma and a Papa, sister and a brother   But you aint got no friends of mine   You know I cant tell one from the other   And since you been gone I been losing my mind      And if you find your way back to the river   Wont you wash my black water soul   Cause I have found my own way back to shelter   But you wont find your way back home      I left town about a year ago   I've been to New York, Shreveport, and Chicago   Every now and then I send a postcard home   But being gone don't change being alone      So if you ever miss the cotten fields   You can find me hangin around the moonshine still   Come back home if your love is real   Cause I aint scared of the way that I feel      And if you find your way back to the river   Wont you wash my black water soul   Cause I have found my own way back to shelter   But you wont find your way back home      And if you find your way back to the river   Wont you wash my black water soul   Cause I have found my own way back to shelter   But you wont find your way back home