I went down the Mississippi
Way down to New Orleans
I went down the Mississippi
Way down to New Orleans
It was years before the storm came
It was in nineteen ninety-three

I came down from St. Louis
Got me a steamboat fare
I came down from St. Louis
To find my lady there
And I found her in the worst place
Right down at Kongo Square

We were a-drinkin' and a-gamblin'
'Til we left for Baton Rouge
We were a-fussin' and a-fightin'
It was too calm in Baton Rouge
We were running out of money
We didn't know what we were doin'

We got stranded in Biloxi
Across the Pontchartrain
Low down in Biloxi
Across the Pontchartrain
Gotta make it back to Orleans
I gotta make it there

Down the Mississippi -
Down the Mississippi -
Down the Mississippi -
Way down to New Orleans
It was the place they called Big Easy
It was the city of my dreams