NOTE: This is a revised arrangement:

Ol‘ Man River is an American classic.  It was written for the 1927 musical Show Boat with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River.

My arrangement for lap steel highlights the melody with a nod at the head and tail to the 19th Century anthem, “Dixie”.

Steel guitar legend Jerry Byrd innovated both the C6th tuning and the variation used here: C6th/A7 tuning. Simply sharpening the 6th string C note by 1/2 step, from C to C#, gives access to dominant 7th and diminished voices on the bottom four strings (an A7th chord) while we retain all the power of the C6th tuning on  the top 5 strings.

C6th/A7 tuning (low to high) C# E G A C E