John Hartford - Steamboat Whistle Blues lyrics

Well I started out to be a towboat man But I never got the hang of a ratchet bar I was a -growin up a-deckin in the Illinois trade with coal dust in my ear I got stuck in the ice on Christmas Eve And I froze my a** it's true Just a shiv'rin and a-shakin with a Down South case of them Steamboat whistle blues Oh Captain Way I'm sorry, my hat is off to you You've been a-hanging out by the old cook stove With the steamboat whistle blues Well way up North I called your phone But I didn't get no one to answer So I opened up the window and I smoked a little bit And I watched the cars go by I'm gonna hunt you up and ask you If you found out anything new Or are you a-hangin to the best you had With the steamboat whistle blues I've been right here since nine o'clock And believe you me that's true Just a-lookin at the water ways churning with the steamboat whistle blues Well the city's growing up where it looks all square Like a crossword puzzle on the landscape It looks like an electric shaver now Where the courthouse used to be The gra** is all synthetic And we don't know for sure about the food The only thing we know for sure is them steamboat whistle blues I'd sit and watch my TV if I thought I could trust the news About the only thing I trust these days Is them steamboat whistle blues Well "far out" Johnny well I heard him say As he stretched out back on the water bed Bluegra** music is a thing of the past And the same for rock and roll And I loaned him two or three dollars And he gave me the latest news And he left me here with a Rolling Stone And the steamboat whistle blues I'll tear off down the river some day before I'm through Then come back here and see it out With the steamboat whistle blues