Bottomland Woman

Woke up this mornin', mud still on my shoes

Woke up this mornin', red mud on my shoes

Been walkin' these bottomlands, got nothin' left to lose

My man went to Memphis, said he'd write me a letter home

He went up to Memphis, swore he'd send a letter home

Three years of silence — I been sleepin' here alone

I'm a bottomland woman, the river knows my name

Said I'm a bottomland woman, Lord, the river knows my name

The Delta don't forget you — it remembers all your pain

I chopped your cotton, cooked your cornbread on the fire

Chopped your cotton, stirred your cornbread on the fire

Now I'm burnin' all your letters — I got no more desire

Ain't no hoodoo woman gonna fix what ain't there

Can't root-doctor loneliness out of the midnight air

My mama told me, baby, men are like the flood

Yeah, my mama warned me — men run like the flood

They come and wash right through you, leave you covered up in mud

I'm a bottomland woman…

The river knows my name…

Lord have mercy…

The Delta don't forget…