"The Big Rock Candy Mountains... where they hung the jerk that invented work..."The Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) begins with this wonderful song written by Harry McClintock. A tune that you will fall in love with at once and words that fit just so well with the mood of the film and the vision of a bum's utopia, this song is rightly called a Hobo Ballad. This link provides with a funny animation based on the song. Go, click and smile.
I am penning down the lyrics here:
One evening as the sun went down
And the jungle fire was burning,
Down the track came a hobo hikin'
And he said, boys, I'm not turning,
I'm headed for a land that's far away
Beside the crystal fountains,
So come with me, we'll go and see
The big rock candy mountains.
In the big rock candy mountains
There's a land that's fair and bright,
Where the handouts grow on bushes,
And you sleep out every night.
Where the boxcars all are empty,
And the sun shines every day,
On the birds and the bees,
And the cigarette trees,
The lemonade springs,
Where the bluebird sings,
In the big rock candy mountains.
In the big rock candy mountains
All the cops have wooden legs,
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth,
And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs.
The farmer's trees are full of fruit
And the barns are full of hay,
Oh, I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow,
Where the rain don't fall,
The wind don't blow,
In the big rock candy mountains.
In the big rock candy mountains
You never change your socks,
And the little streams of alcohol
Come a-trickling down the rocks.
The brakemen have to tip their hats,
And the railroad bulls are blind,
There's a lake of stew
And of whiskey, too,
You can paddle all around 'em
In a big canoe
In the big rock candy mountains.
In the big rock candy mountains
The jails are made of tin,
And you can walk right out again
As soon as you are in.
There ain't no short-handle shovels,
No axes, saws or picks,
I'm a-goin' to stay
Where you sleep all day,
Where they hung the jerk
That invented work
In the big rock candy mountains.
I'll see you all this coming fall
In the big rock candy mountains.
- a song by Harry 'Haywire' McClintock
(first recorded in 1928)
And the jungle fire was burning,
Down the track came a hobo hikin'
And he said, boys, I'm not turning,
I'm headed for a land that's far away
Beside the crystal fountains,
So come with me, we'll go and see
The big rock candy mountains.
In the big rock candy mountains
There's a land that's fair and bright,
Where the handouts grow on bushes,
And you sleep out every night.
Where the boxcars all are empty,
And the sun shines every day,
On the birds and the bees,
And the cigarette trees,
The lemonade springs,
Where the bluebird sings,
In the big rock candy mountains.
In the big rock candy mountains
All the cops have wooden legs,
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth,
And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs.
The farmer's trees are full of fruit
And the barns are full of hay,
Oh, I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow,
Where the rain don't fall,
The wind don't blow,
In the big rock candy mountains.
In the big rock candy mountains
You never change your socks,
And the little streams of alcohol
Come a-trickling down the rocks.
The brakemen have to tip their hats,
And the railroad bulls are blind,
There's a lake of stew
And of whiskey, too,
You can paddle all around 'em
In a big canoe
In the big rock candy mountains.
In the big rock candy mountains
The jails are made of tin,
And you can walk right out again
As soon as you are in.
There ain't no short-handle shovels,
No axes, saws or picks,
I'm a-goin' to stay
Where you sleep all day,
Where they hung the jerk
That invented work
In the big rock candy mountains.
I'll see you all this coming fall
In the big rock candy mountains.
- a song by Harry 'Haywire' McClintock
(first recorded in 1928)
Thanks for bringing out these gems.
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