Mom and Pop called their little boy Ned
They raised him on the banks of a riverbed
A houseboat tied to a big tall tree
Home for my Papa and my Mama and me
The clock strikes three,
Papa jumps to his feet
Already Mama's cooking
Papa something to eat
At half past, Papa, he's ready to go
He jumps in his piero,
headed down the bayou
He's got fishin' lines strung
across the Louisiana river
Gotta catch a big fish for us two
He's settin' traps in the swamp,
catchin' anything he can
Gotta make a livin',
he's a Louisiana man
Gotta make a livin',
he's a Louisiana man
Muskrat hens are
hangin' by the dozen
Even got a lady mink, a muskrat's cousin
Got him out dryin' in the hot,
hot sun
Tomorrow, Papa's gonna turn
them into money
They call Mama Rita and my Daddy Jack
My little baby brother on the floor,
that's Mack
Fran and Elaine are the family twins
Big Brother Ed's on the bio fishin'
On the river floats
Papa's great big boat
That's how my Papa goes into town
It takes every bit of a night and a day
To even reach a place where the people stay
I can hardly wait until tomorrow
comes around
That's the day my Papa
takes the first to town
Papa promised me that I could go
He even let me see a cowboy show
I saw the cowboys and Indians
for the first time
then I told my papa, gotta go again
Papa said, son, we got lives to run
But come back again,
cause there's work to be done
He's got fishin' lines down
across the Louisiana River
Gotta catch a big fish for us to eat
He's settin' traps in the swamp
Catching anything you can
Gotta make a living,
he's a Louisiana man
Gotta make a living,
he's a Louisiana man
Gotta make a living,
he's a Louisiana man
Gotta make a living,
he's a Louisiana man