Cover of sheet music for the song (1915)Ebbets Field with Green River ad visible on outfield wall, 1913
I've Been Floating Down the Old Green River is a 1915 song with words by Bert Kalmar and music by Joe Cooper.
The song is sung from the point of view of a husband who has to explain to his wife why he stayed out until 4:30 in the morning. He states that he has been floating down the old Green River on the good ship "Rock and Rye", where he got "stuck on a bar". The tag line in the lyric is:
I had to drink the whole Green River dry
To get back home to you.
The song is a play on words, as Green River was a popular brand of whiskey at the time.[1]
Russ Morgan and His Orchestra recorded the song for Decca Records (catalog No. 24834) in 1949.[3]
Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen included the song on the 1964 album Jazz Band Ball and it was later included in the compilation The Pye Jazz Albums (2003).[4]
