Born in Arkansas Mississippi river at my backdoor If that black land was so doggone rich how come we were so poor Pick that cotton in daytime pick guitar at night Daddy said hon keep on picking everything’s gonna be all right Be all right in Arkansas We'll have shoes for to school new clothes too And go to the fair next fall Be all right in Arkansas Everything's gonna be all right in Arkansas Seemed like every year something happened to the cotton crop If drought didn't wipe us out there were rains that never stopped Clouds came up that morning river came up that night Daddy said pack up the pickup hon everything’s gonna be all right Stayed away till the river went down and then we went back home That black land was just black mud and all our cotton was gone Can't forget how daddy looked the day I saw him cry But through his tears he said next year everything’s gonna be all right