I've Been Floating Down the Old Green River
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Floating_down_Old_Green_River.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Ray_Caldwell_pitching_in_the_first_game_at_Ebbets_Field%2C_April_5%2C_1913_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Ray_Caldwell_pitching_in_the_first_game_at_Ebbets_Field%2C_April_5%2C_1913_%28cropped%29.jpg)
"I've Been Floating Down the Old Green River" is a 1915 song with words by Bert Kalmar and music by Joe Cooper.
The song is sung from the point of view of a husband who has to explain to his wife why he stayed out until 4:30 in the morning. He states that he has been floating down the old Green River on the good ship "Rock and Rye", where he got "stuck on a bar". The tag line in the lyric is:
- I had to drink the whole Green River dry
- To get back home to you.
The song is a play on words, as Green River was a popular brand of whiskey at the time.[1]
The popular vocalist Billy Murray recorded the song on March 11, 1915 for Victor Records (catalog No. 17885B).[2]
Russ Morgan and His Orchestra recorded the song for Decca Records (catalog No. 24834) in 1949.[3]
Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen included the song on the 1964 album Jazz Band Ball and it was later included in the compilation The Pye Jazz Albums (2003).[4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/df/Green_River_Whiskey_ad_1914_12_22.jpg/100px-Green_River_Whiskey_ad_1914_12_22.jpg)
References
External links
- Lyrics Archived 2021-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Recording by Billy Murray
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