One of the best books ever written about the exodus from the Dust Bowl and what went on once those folks got here. Steinbeck just about got banished from his hometown of Salinas after East Of Eden, and from California after Grapes Of Wrath and what are known as the California Novels. All is forgiven now tho'.
I'm not sure just when Woody Guthrie wrote this, but it's damn near as true today as it was then.
Do Re Mi
Lots of folks back East, they say, is leavin' home every day,
Beatin' the hot old dusty way to the California line.
'Cross the desert sands they roll, gettin' out of that old dust bowl,
They think they're goin' to a sugar bowl, but here's what they find
Now, the police at the port of entry say,
"You're number fourteen thousand for today."
Oh, if you ain't got the do re mi, folks, you ain't got the do re mi,
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee.
California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see;
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi.
You want to buy you a home or a farm, that can't deal nobody harm,
Or take your vacation by the mountains or sea.
Don't swap your old cow for a car, you better stay right where you are,
Better take this little tip from me.
'Cause I look through the want ads every day
But the headlines on the papers always say:
If you ain't got the do re mi, boys, you ain't got the do re mi,
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee.
California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see;
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi.
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie
© 1961 (renewed) by TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc.
California is a beautiful place outside of San Frandiego. The area around Salinas and Monterey is nice. Come see, then go back home and get some more money and come visit again.
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