When I was a boy, My life was a joy As I grew up in a land of pioneers. In the bright sunshine I would cast my line And watch it float down the river. Down the river, down the river Down the mighty Zambezi; Down the river, down the river And her great white water's swallowed by the sea. When I was a man, My young life span Fell within the boundaries of war. We were soldiers bold, And we patrolled And we fought the foe down the river. Down the river, down the river Down the mighty Zambezi; Down the river, down the river And her great white water's swallowed by the sea. The war raged on And was finally won, By whom and for what we'll never know And some gave life, The supreme sacrifice And the rest were sold down the river. Down the river, down the river Down the mighty Zambezi; Down the river, down the river And her great white water's swallowed by the sea.