I'll never swim Kern River again
It was there that I met him
There that I lost my best friend
Now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may drown in still water
But I'll never swim Kern River again

He grew up in an oil town
But that gusher never came in
And the river was a boundary
Where my darling and I used to swim

One night in the moonlight
The swiftness swept his life away
Now I live on Lake Shasta
And Lake Shasta is where I will stay

There's the South San Joaquin
Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found
And there's a place called Mt Whitney
From where the mighty Kern River comes down

Now it's not deep nor wide
But it's a mean piece of water my friend
And I may cross on the highway
But I'll never swim Kern River again

I'll never swim Kern River again
It was there that I met him
There that I lost my best friend
Now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may drown in still water
But I'll never swim Kern River again

I'll never swim Kern River again
It was there that I met him
There that I lost my best friend
Now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may cross on the highway
But I'll never swim Kern River again
No, I'll never swim Kern River again