Dobie Gray - Roll On Sweet Mississippi [HD]

Dobie Gray sings 'Roll On Sweet Mississippi' from his 1974 MCA album 'Hey Dixie'. His song 'Drift Away' was one of the biggest hits of 1973. The lyrics are below with comments about Dobie Gray.

Note: Images in the video are various places on the Mississippi River.

[Vinyl/16-Images/WAV]

Roll On Sweet Mississippi (Singer: Dobie Gray)

Roll on sweet Mississippi deep and wide

You're a river, more than water
And your waters, more than gold
Your ripples are all stories
Which your many sons have told
Your sound is made of drumbeats
For which men have fought and died
Your water's made of teardrops
Which your Southern people cried

So, roll on sweet Mississippi
Wash the faces of your sons
And bathe them in that golden Delta sun
Delta Sun
Yes! And fill them with the spirit
For which Dixie heroes die
Roll on sweet Mississippi deep and wide

You have watched the women's faces
As their men went off to die
For the heartlands and their country
Never asking why
You have heard the others laughing
At your gentle Southern ways
Still, you keep right on a-rolling
Never caring what they say

So, roll on sweet Mississippi
Wash the faces of your sons
Bathe them in that golden Delta sun
Delta Sun
Yes! And fill them with your spirit
For which Dixie heroes die
Roll on sweet Mississippi deep and wide

You have clothed and fed your people
In their bodies and their minds
And the warmth of your reflections
Has raised them to be kind
You're a river, more than water
Lord! Your waters, more than gold
Oh! You're a mother to the Southland
You're a wonder to behold

So roll on sweet Mississippi
Wash the faces of your sons
Bathe them in that golden Delta sun
Delta Sun
Yes! And fill them with the spirit
For which Dixie heroes die
Roll on sweet Mississippi deep and wide

Songwriters: Bob Morrison, William Anthony
[Lyrics from Musixmatch]

Wikipedia states:

Dobie Gray (born Lawrence Darrow Brown; July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away", which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, has sold over one million copies and remains a staple of radio airplay.

Gray was born in Simonton, Texas. His birth name was most likely Lawrence Darrow Brown, listed in Fort Bend County birth records as being born in 1940 to Jane and Jethro C. Brown. Other sources suggest he may have been born Leonard Victor Ainsworth, a name he used on some early recordings.

His family sharecropped. He discovered gospel music through his grandfather, a Baptist minister.

In the early 1960s Gray moved to Los Angeles, intending to pursue an acting career while also singing to make money. He recorded for several local labels under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis, and Larry Dennis, before Sonny Bono directed him toward the small independent Stripe Records. They suggested that he record under the name "Dobie Gray", an allusion to the then-popular sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

His first taste of success came in 1962 when his seventh single "Look At Me", on the Cor-Dak label and recorded with bassist Carol Kaye, reached No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.