Showboat coming up the river 
See her lanterns flicker in the gentle breeze 
I can hear the crickets singing in the evening 
Old Dixie Lily moving past the cypress trees 
 
My little boat she rocks easy 
I've been catching catfish in the creek all day 
Oh and I've never seen ladies like those on the big boats 
Must be fancy breeding lets you live that way 
 
Dixie Lily, chugging like a grand old lady 
Paddles hitting home in the noonday sun 
Ploughing through the water with your whistles blowing 
Down from Louisiana on the Vicksburg run 
 
Papa says that I'm a dreamer 
Says them skeetas bit me one too many times 
Oh but I never get lonesome living on the river 
Watching old Lily leave the world behind