Mississippi River

This page is about the river in the United States; there is also a Canadian Mississippi River (Ontario).

Popular culture

Nicknames

Due to its size and historical significance, the Mississippi probably has more nicknames than any other river. Among these are:

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• The Father of Waters
• The Gathering of Waters
• The Big Muddy (more commonly associated with the Missouri River)
• Big River
• Old Man River
• The Great River
• Body of a Nation
• The Mighty Mississippi
• El Grande (de Soto)
• The Muddy Mississippi

Literature & Music

Many of the works of Mark Twain deal with or take place near the Mississippi River. One of his first major works, Life on the Mississippi, is in part a history of the river, in part a memoir of Twain's experiences on the river, and a collection of tales that either take place on or are associated with the river. Twain's most famous work, Huckleberry Finn, is largely a journey down the river. The novel works as an episodic meditation on American culture with the river as the central metaphor.

Related Topics:
Mark Twain - Life on the Mississippi - Huckleberry Finn

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Herman Melville's novel The Confidence-Man portrayed a Canterbury Tales-style group of steamboat passengers whose interlocking stories are told as they travel up the Mississppi River. The novel is written both as cultural satire and a metaphysical treatise. Like Huckleberry Finn, it uses the Mississippi River as a metaphor for the larger aspects of American and human identity that unify the otherwise disparate characters. The river's fluidity is reflected by the often shifting personalities and identities of Melville's "confidence man."

Related Topics:
Herman Melville - The Confidence-Man - Canterbury Tales - Huckleberry Finn

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The stage and movie musical Show Boat's central musical piece is the Blues-influenced ballad Ol' Man River.

Related Topics:
Show Boat - Blues - Ol' Man River

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Ferde Grofe composed a set of movements based on the lands the river travels through in his Mississippi Suite.

Related Topics:
Ferde Grofe - Mississippi Suite

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The song 'When the Levee Breaks', made famous in the version performed by Led Zeppelin on the album Led Zep IV, was composed by Memphis Minnie McCoy in 1929 after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

Related Topics:
Led Zeppelin - Memphis Minnie - 1929 - Great Mississippi Flood - 1927

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Slang

The Mississippi is probably the river meant in the phrase sold down the river, as a reference to slavery. Down the Mississippi was farther into the Deep South and plantation country.

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