The song, written in a [[blues]] tempo, is sung in the show by several characters, but is most closely associated with the character Julie, the [[mulatto]] leading lady of the showboat "Cotton Blossom". It is Julie who is first heard singing the song - to Magnolia, the daughter of Cap'n Andy Hawks and his wife Parthenia (Parthy), owners of the show boat. In the musical's plot, the number is supposed to be a song familiar to African-Americans for years, and this provides one of the most dramatic moments in the show. When Queenie, the black cook, comments that it is strange that light-skinned Julie knows the song because only black people sing it, Julie becomes visibly uncomfortable. Later, we learn that this is because Julie is "[[Passing (racial identity)|passing]]" as white - she and her white husband are guilty of [[miscegenation]] under the state's law.
Immediately after Julie sings the song through once, Queenie chimes in with her own lyrics to it, and she is joined by her husband Joe, the black [[stevedore]] who sings ''[[Ol' Man River]]'' in the show. This is followed by Julie, Queenie, Magnolia, Joe, and the black chorus all performing a song-and-dance to the number.
