Ol’ Man River is the most iconic song from the 1927 musical Show Boat, written by Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics), arranged for accordion ensemble by Anthony Galla-Rini. It is a slow, hymn‑like lament sung by Joe, a Black stevedore working on the Mississippi River, contrasting the brutal realities of African American labor with the indifferent, eternal flow of the river.
