The Hennepin Avenue Bridge - Brian Setzer

Father Hennepin went down to Bennigan’s

To discuss the construction of the Hennepin Bridge

He had time to kill down by the flour mill

So he planned a picnic lunch on St Anthony Main

Now Father Hennepin he was notorious

And he liked a little drunk down at Nye’s Polanaise

His explorations were more than glorious

So they planned to build a bridge that would feature his name

Well, first Niagara and then St Anthony’s

Were discovered by the fella with the Hennepin name

But when the lock was filled on the lower falls

Eveyone was shoppin' on the Nicollet Mall

And when the rope was cut on the Hennepin

Father Louis had a most unusual plan

He would take a dip in the Mississippi

He would dive from the centre and swim to the dam

When the time had come and he took the plunge

Everyone screamed: «My God, what has he done»

And though he tried to swim, the current carried him

Closer and closer to the brink of the falls

The people lined the banks of the Mississippi

To watch Father Hennepin go over the edge

The people there that day, they all swear they say

Father Hennepin was laughin' as he fell to his death