[Intro]
If I were born to be a river
If a river is all I'd be
I'd tell the giver of all of the rivers
To make me the Tennessee

[Verse 1]
How many drops of rain roll
Off of how many windowpanes
Down to a valley low
Where a river like me begins to grow
I sing a mournful song
As I rush and ramble along
Oh dee-oh-dee-oh-dee-oh
Oh dee-oh-dee-oh-dee, oh

[Verse 2]
I bury secrets deep
I keep them down where the catfish creep
Where the rolling tide
Can't reach the things that I hide
I hum a mournful tune
In the Alabama June
Oh dee-oh-dee-oh-dee
Oh dee-oh-dee-oh-dee, oh
[Chorus]
And I sing
Oh dee, dee-dee-dee
Oh doo, doo-doo-doo
Oh oh, oh-oh-oh
Even the Tennessee river runs low

[Bridge]
When the sky is bright and clear
Not a cloud above you
You can float in knowing, dear
That I was made to love you
When the storm is raging
All the light is fading
The river sings along with me
Reaching for that minor key

[Verse 3]
Color me blue and gray
River, carry me fast away
Flood all the rocks and rills
Humble the mighty hill
I am the Tennessee
See you down at the stormy sea
Oh dee-oh-dee-oh-dee
Oh dee-oh-dee-oh-dee, oh
[Chorus]
And I sing
Oh dee, dee-dee-dee
Oh doo, doo-doo-doo
Oh oh, oh-oh-oh
Even the Tennessee river runs low

[Outro]
The Tennessee river runs low
Even the Tennessee river runs low