Thanks, Al. You're absolutely right; I looked it up and those lyrics are, indeed, as sung in Showboat. Even those specific lyrics, though, as many others, were changed by Robeson for the performance. Many others, it seems, were modified along the way to adjust for changes in cultural sensitivities and the song has been performed by hundreds of different artists. In 1952 it was one of my favorite songs and we played it on a wind up Victrola.
