<P> `` Ol ' Man River '' ( music by Jerome Kern , lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II ) is a show tune from the 1927 musical Show Boat that contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless , uncaring flow of the Mississippi River . It is sung from the point of view of a black stevedore on a showboat , and is the most famous song from the show . The song is meant to be performed in a slow tempo , it is sung complete once in the musical 's lengthy first scene by the stevedore `` Joe '' who travels with the boat , and , in the stage version , is heard four more times in brief reprises . Joe serves as a sort of musical one - man Greek chorus , and the song , when reprised , comments on the action , as if saying , `` This has happened , but the river keeps rolling on anyway . '' </P>
<P> `` Ol ' Man River '' ( music by Jerome Kern , lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II ) is a show tune from the 1927 musical Show Boat that contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless , uncaring flow of the Mississippi River . It is sung from the point of view of a black stevedore on a showboat , and is the most famous song from the show . The song is meant to be performed in a slow tempo , it is sung complete once in the musical 's lengthy first scene by the stevedore `` Joe '' who travels with the boat , and , in the stage version , is heard four more times in brief reprises . Joe serves as a sort of musical one - man Greek chorus , and the song , when reprised , comments on the action , as if saying , `` This has happened , but the river keeps rolling on anyway . '' </P>
who wrote the song ol ' man river
who wrote the song ol ' man river
music by Jerome Kern , lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
music by Jerome Kern , lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II