They Covered Up the Old Swimmin' Hole

(Jack Clement)



Boring through the mountains by-passing the towns

Interstate 90 is a sight to behold

But that monument to progress and engineering skill

Has covered up the old swimmin' hole.



Thirty feet straight up from where the old hole stood

They sell twenty kinds of icecream and the food is good

But it never can compare with the food for the soul

You could get for a dip in the old swimmin' hole.



Oh, the old swimmin' hole, her cool waters ran deep

Felt good to a boy with mud on his feet

And I'm wishing these days I could strip to my soul

And go for a dip in the old swimmin' hole.



--- Instrumental ---



A symbol of our great and affluent society

Interstate 90 fulfillment of our goals

But that masterpiece of human ingenuity

Has covered up the old swimmin' hole.



Gone the wooden schoolhouse the old country store

The winding dirt road that's winding no more

And the old swimmin' hole hears the sound of speeding wheels

Entombed beneath a blanket of concrete and steel.



Oh, the old swimmin' hole, her cool waters ran deep

Felt good to a boy with mud on his feet

And I'm wishing these days I could strip to my soul

And go for a dip in the old swimmin' hole...