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Rolled on Columbia

And salmon again will build up their stocks,

Roll on Columbia, roll on.

By Andy Kerr (with no apologies to Woody Guthrie)

Green Douglas-fir where the waters cut through,

Down the wild canyons and valleys she flew;

But now you are stagnant and we are so blue,

Rolled on Columbia, rolled on.

Chorus:

Rolled on, Columbia, rolled on;

Rolled on, Columbia, rolled on.

Your damns have turned our lifeline to pus,

So rolled the Columbia, rolled on.

Many great rivers added water to you:

Yakima, Snake, and the Klickitat, too;

Sandy Willamette and Hood River too,

Rolled on Columbia, rolled on. (Chorus)

At Bonneville now there's a damn in the path,

the waters have risen and buried the grass;

Most of the salmon now fail to pass,

Rolled on Columbia rolled on. (Chorus)

And on up the river are many more damns,

The biggest slackwater ever built by man;

To make aluminum foil and all those beer cans,

It's rolled on Columbia, rolled on. (Chorus)

Barges of wheat float by on the muck,

While the few salmon ride in a government truck.

It's simply another corporate ----,

So rolled the Columbia, rolled on. (Chorus)

Those mighty bastards labored by day and by night,

Matching their greed 'gainst the river's wild flight;

The rapids and falls they lost the hard fight,

Rolled on, Columbia, rolled on. (Chorus)

Conservationists labored by day and by night,

Seeking to restore the river's wild flight;

So Celilo Falls may again be in sight,

Roll on Columbia, roll on! (New Chorus)

New Chorus (with gusto):

Roll on Columbia, roll on;

Roll on Columbia, roll on.

Your waters again will flow free and clear,

So roll on, Columbia, roll on.

At Bonneville soon there'll be a hole in the locks,

The waters will lower and clear all the rocks;

And salmon again will build up their stocks,

Roll on Columbia, roll on. (New Chorus)