And if you listen then thats what you'll hear
La da da I will tell you a story
And if its not told it will disappear
My mom and daddy met when they were still eighteen
Moved into the city and had a family
He worked the river every day and every night
Came home to my mother and this was their life
La da da I will tell you a story
And if you listen then thats what you'll hear
La da da I will tell you a story
And if its not told it will disappear
Weekends they danced on the riverboat
Walked ot save a nickel to buy themselves a coke
They were young it was nineteen twenty-three
Thirty years before they would get to me
La da da I will tell you a story
And if you listen then thats what you'll hear
La da da I will tell you a story
And if its not told it will disappear
He was a gambler and a drinker
But every single Sunday no matter what you think
He'd be in church he'd never miss a Sunday
But me I haven't been since he passed away
La da da I will tell you a story
And if you listen then thats what you'll hear
La da da I will tell you a story
And if its not told it will disappear
My father passed away when he was very young
Eleven children he and my mother they had
He'd been an orphan and all he ever wanted
Was a family when he died it was all he had
La da da I will tell you a story
And if you listen then thats what you'll hear
La da da I will tell you a story
And if its not told it will disappear