I gave notice, and headed for the door Told 'em all I'd see 'em when, when I was no more I went to see my mother, I hate to see her cry I saw to it that she had got, enough to get her by But I gotta get goin', gotta get goin', gotta get goin' If, God willin', the creek don't rise Gotta get goin', gotta get goin', gotta get goin' If, God willin', the creek don't rise I untied my pony, skinny as a hound I kissed'er with my bootheel until we made some ground I pointed all my compasses away from where I came And rode from Frederick County with a dollar to my name Well I gotta get goin', gotta get goin', gotta get goin' If, God willin', the creek don't rise Gotta get goin', gotta get goin', gotta get goin' If, God willin', the creek don't rise I stopped in Harper's Ferry, for a weary night I thought I'd make a friend or two, by getting in a fight I sipped a bit much whiskey, and said a couple words I kissed the preacher's daughter and flipped a couple birds I overstayed my welcome, in the first degree It's half-past ten now, I got here ten-o-three I ran out to my stallion, voluntarily They bid me farewell, with the infantry But I gotta get goin', gotta get goin', gotta get goin' If, God willin', the creek don't rise Gotta get goin', gotta get goin', gotta get goin' If, God willin', the creek don't rise I traveled through October, the mountains and the plains Hoping all the losses, won't outweigh the gains A longing for my hometown froze me like the ice But dreams of Frederick County and my Mother will suffice A letter from my brother, to me, was addressed I still don't understand just how it found me in the west I read it twenty times or more and I still can't put it down The creek it swelled beyond the banks and swallowed up the town So I gotta get goin', gotta get goin', gotta get goin' If, God willin', the creek don't rise Gotta get goin', gotta get goin', I gotta get goin' If, God willin', the creek don't rise If, God willin', the creek don't rise If, God willin', the creek don't rise If, God willin', the creek don't rise I gotta get goin'