She winds a ribbon through the Valley low. The barges full of coal move along real slow. And if close your eyes, you can feel the flow.
Back on the banks of the Ohio. Back on the banks of Ohio.
You can stand atop the foothills and watch her run. Your old hometown below you in morning sun. She's all you ever needed. She's all you know.
Back on the banks of the Ohio. Back on the banks of the Ohio.
Chorus That's where I to be. I swear I could be free, From these stresses and these strains, big city chains, that got a hold on me.
Some day I'll return, But 'til then have to learn, How to get along, somewhere I belong, but where I have to be.
The carp and the catfish will have to wait. I've got a briefcase full of papers and it's getting But tomorrow after work, when I'm feeling low, I'll go back to the banks of the Ohio, In my mind back to banks of the Ohio.