Born on the hudson, twenty-two years gone
Bred and raised in the city
From my daddys knee I learned the union songs
But grandma sang lullabies of dixie
And though the northern winter fills my heart with joy
Oh its a southern sun that shines down
On this yankee boy
Mama dreamed of paris nights
And boatin on the seine
She said, were gonna make it there too
Soon as papa comes home again
And shed speak to me in broken french
Dressed like a painting of lautrecs
In the night shed clutch me to her breast
And say, well make it outta here yet
And though parisian women
Strut so fine down the eiffel mall
Its a southern one I sing my songs for
Well with the local bunch of do-good boys
And an old man from the west
We crossed the land in the caravan
Yes we traveled with the best
With circus acts and vaudeville hacks
And the mississippi delta queen
She told me the news and sold me her blues
In an alley in new orleans
And though the western plains are still stained
With the blood of great cowboys
Its a southern sun
That shine down on this yankee boy