It took a mighty good man with salty hands And a mighty long raft to keep the fore before the act You take ten good men and guts and luck And you might navigate the whirl and the suck
Well the Tennessee River changed its mind at Chattanooga she oughta unwind She could a run right on the Georgia Sea but she cut right back through Tennessee Well the settlers come by raft and boat bringin' everything that could stay a float But like a loco horse that'll twist and buck They hardly ever made it through the whirl and the suck
It took a mighty good man... [ banjo ] When General Washington was in his knicker bocks The Cherokee Indians through the Chattanooga Rocks And the Chickamagua tribe and the Nickajack They kept the watch where the river cut back And if a raft or a boat ever rode the bend The Indians got 'em cause they had 'em hemmed in
