See,

it's just "the river" to we locals.

There is something about the Mississippi's very nature, its wilfulness, and its sheer size - 2,320 miles long, from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, and at its widest point 4,500ft across - that demands veneration. And indeed, the Mississippi is a river that has been sung about often - by Janis Joplin, the Hold Steady, Hank Snow, Mavis Staples, Jimmie Rodgers and many others. It's been the "Ol' Man" that "jus' keeps rollin' along" for Paul Robeson, and it has shined "like the national guitar" for Paul Simon.