yes right along the river nice brown crappy river
You're looking at the Ohio river with the wrong set of eyes, Wulfie!
Quite often, when African American slaves sang about "The River Jordan" they were referring to the Ohio River. The Ohio river represented FREEDOM for them, and the only thing that separated them from this freedom was a body of water. Crossing the river was easier said than done though, as it was heavily patrolled by posse men and regulators.
Later, after the Civil War, the Ohio River served as the life blood between the North and the South. Ships and barges carried cargo up and down the river, providing much work and commerce for people in the Midwest and upper South.
Soon, interstates were built and the magnificent ports of Evansville and Madison Indiana suffered as cargo traffic shifted from river boat to semi trailer trucks. Many of these ports soon disappeared and a great chapter of American history was closed forever.
But the Ohio river still flows past states like Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Yes Richard, it's a crappy river, and it's a damn shame we have polluted it so much. But the Ohio remains a great and powerful river; etching its way through the great American landscape just as it etched its way through our great, and often sad American history.