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'