Well, at birth Mom and Papa called their little boy Ned
He raised him on the banks of a river bed
On a houseboat tied to a big tall tree
A home for my papa and my momma and me
The clock strikes three and Papa jumps to his feet
Already Momma's cookin' Papa somethin' to eat
At half past, Papa, he's a-ready to go
He jumps in his pirogue headed down the bayou
He's got fishin' lines strung across the Louisiana River
Gotta catch a big fish for us to eat
He's settin' traps in the swamps, catchin' anything he can
Gotta make a livin', he's a Louisiana man
Gotta make a livin', he's a Louisiana man
Got muskrat hides hangin' by the dozens
Even got a lady mink, a muskrat's cousin
Got 'em out dryin' in the hot, hot sun
Tomorrow Papa's gonna turn 'em into mon
Well, they call my momma Rita and my daddy Jack
Little baby brother on the floor, that's Mack
Bren and Lin are the family twins
And big brother Ed, he's on the bayou fishin'
On the river floats Papa's great big boat
And that's how my papa goes into town
It takes him every bit of a night and a day
To even reach a place where the people stay
And I can hardly wait until tomorrow comes around
That's the day my papa takes the furs to town
Papa promised me that I could go
He'd even let me see a cowboy show
I saw the cowboys and Indians for the first time then
I told my pop I've gotta go again
Well, Papa said, "Son we've got lines to run.
We'll come back again, but first there's work to be done."
He's got fishin' lines strung across the Louisiana River
Gotta catch a big fish for us to eat
He's settin' traps, he's in the swamps, he's catchin' anything he can
Gotta make a livin', he's a Louisiana man
Gotta make a livin', he's a Louisiana man
Gotta make a livin', he's a Louisiana man
Gotta make a livin', Louisiana man