Daddy was a preacher in Sledge
We were living on gospel and beans
Every Sunday night Deacon Jones
Would give a silver dollar to me
On the way home my poor momma
Would pry it from my hand
And say it fell from heaven

Way down in me a river runs deep
Reminding me just who I am
Good or bad it'll always be 
Mississippi and me
Mississippi and me

Cissy was a beautician next door
She had the worst hair-do in town
She always smoked Pall Malls and drank Tabs
And hung out at the Delta Lounge
But I heard she finally found herself
In West Memphis, Arkansas

Way down in me a river runs deep
Reminding me just who I am
Good or bad it'll always be 
Mississippi and me
Mississippi and me

Mr. Thomas Lee ran the bank
And made a fortune on catfish farms
Every time you'd try for a loan
You had to twist his arm
I heard one night in Tupelo
He stepped out of a window
He thought he was Elvis

Way down in me a river runs deep
Reminding me just who I am
Good or bad it'll always be 
Mississippi and me
Mississippi and me
Mississippi and me