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Roll On Columbia

Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn
So roll on, Columbia, roll on

Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew
Canadian Northwest to the oceans so blue
Roll on Columbia, roll on

Other great rivers add power to you
Yakima, Snake, and the Klickitat, too
Sandy Willamette and Hood River too
So roll on, Columbia, roll on

Tom Jefferson's vision would not let him rest
An empire he saw in the Pacific Northwest
Sent Lewis and Clark and they did the rest
So roll on, Columbia, roll on

It's there on your banks that we fought many a fight
Sheridan's boys in the blockhouse that night
They saw us in death but never in flight
So roll on Columbia, roll on

At Bonneville now there are ships in the locks
The waters have risen and cleared all the rocks
Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks
So roll on, Columbia, roll on

And on up the river is Grand Coulee Dam
The mightiest thing ever built by a man
To run the great factories and water the land
So roll on, Columbia, roll on

These mighty men labored by day and by night
Matching their strength 'gainst the river's wild flight
Through rapids and falls, they won the hard fight
So roll on, Columbia, roll on

 

Available on:

Columbia River Collection
Woody Guthrie

Thinking of Woody Guthrie
Country Joe McDonald

Words by Woody Guthrie
Music based on "Goodnight, Irene" (Huddie Ledbetter and John Lomax)
© Copyright 1936 (renewed), 1957 (renewed) and 1963 (renewed) by Ludlow Music Inc.

Contact The Publisher
The Richmond Organization (TRO)
(includes Ludlow Music, Folkways Music, Hollis Music)
266 West 37th Street, 17th Floor / New York, NY 10018-6609
Email: info@songways.com

 


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