A folk song, as used in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

The version used in the film is performed by Harry McClintock and is somewhat different to the Burl Ives one I'm more familiar with. It's more folksy and more explicitly about the lot of the homeless- as far as I can remember the Ives version was adapted to describe the sort of paradise anyone could enjoy, rather than the tragic fantasy of an old-time tramp.

One evening as the sun went down
And the jungle fires were burning
Down the track came a hobo hiking.
He said "Boys I'm not turning;
I'm heading for a land that's far away
Beside that crystal fountain.
I'll see you all this coming fall
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
It's a land that's fair and bright
The handouts grow on bushes
And you sleep out ev'ry night;
The box-cars are all empty
And the sun shines ev'ry day
I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow
Where the sleet don't fall
And the wind don't blow,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain

Oh the buzzing of the bees in the cigarette trees,
By the soda water fountains,
By the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
You never change your socks,
Little streams of alky-hol
Comes trickling down the rocks.
Oh the shacks all have to tip their hats,
And the railroad bulls are blind,
There's a lake of stew and whiskey too,
And you can paddle all around it
In a big Canoe.
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Oh the buzzing of the bees in the cigarette tress,
By the soda water fountains,
By the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
The cops have wooden legs,
The bull-dogs all have rubber teeth
And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs.
The Box-cars all are empty
And the sun shines ev'ry day
I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow
Where the sleet don't fall
And the wind don't blow,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain

Oh the buzzing of the bees in the cigarettes tress,
By the soda water fountains,
By the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
The jails are made of tin,
You can slip right out again
As soon as they put you in.
There ain't no short handled shovels,
No axes, saws nor picks.
I'm bound to stay where you sleep all day.
Where they hung the jerk
That invented work,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

I remember hearing a DJ announce this as The Big Cock Roundthe Mountain once. teehee!

This w/u is CST Approved.

This is the fuller, 'adult' version of the song I recall from childhood, from hearing it on the radio, and from the 1987 film Ironweed - a song of the open road, a hobo's dream, to travel freely and with no persecution or fuss. This traveller's Shangri-La has all the comforts which anyone could ever want, at no cost, and no responsibility. The thing which has stuck in my mind all these years is the sheer cheek of it all - to wish to freeload your way through life...

Harry McClintock allegedly wrote the song, but lost a lawsuit on the issue of copyright, as the song was based on an old hobo song, and ruled to be in the pulic domain.

On a summer day
In the month of May
A burly bum came hiking
Down a shady lane
Through the sugar cane
He was looking for his liking
As he roamed along
He sang a song
Of the land of milk and honey
Where a bum can stay
For many a day
And he won't need any money

Chorus:
Oh the buzzin' of the bees
In the cigarette trees
Near the soda water fountain
At the lemonade springs
Where the bluebird sings
On the Big Rock Candy Mountain

There's a lake of gin
We can both jump in
And the handouts grow on bushes
In the new-mown hay
We can sleep all day
And the bars all have free lunches
Where the mail train stops
And there ain't no cops
And the folks are tender-hearted
Where you never change your socks
And you never throw rocks
And your hair is never parted

Chorus

Oh, a farmer and his son,
They were on the run
To the hay field they were bounding
Said the bum to the son,
"Why don't you come
To that Big Rock Candy Mountain?"
So the very next day
They hiked away,
The mileposts they were counting
But they never arrived
At the lemonade tide
On the Big Rock Candy Mountain

Chorus

One evening as the sun went down
And the jungle fires were burning,
Down the track came a hobo hiking,
He said, "Boys, I'm not turning
I'm heading for a land that's far away
Beside the crystal fountain
I'll see you all this coming fall
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain

Chorus

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain,
It's a land that's fair and bright,
The handouts grow on bushes
And you sleep out every night.
The boxcars all are empty
And the sun shines every day
I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow
Where the sleet don't fall
And the winds don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Chorus

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain
You never change your socks
And little streams of alkyhol
Come trickling down the rocks
O the shacks all have to tip their hats
And the railway bulls are blind
There's a lake of stew
And ginger ale too
And you can paddle
All around it in a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain

Chorus

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain
The cops have wooden legs
The bulldogs all have rubber teeth
And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The box-cars all are empty
And the sun shines every day
I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow
Where the sleet don't fall
And the winds don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Chorus

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain,
The jails are made of tin.
You can slip right out again,
As soon as they put you in.
There ain't no short-handled shovels,
No axes, saws nor picks,
I'm bound to stay
Where you sleep all day,
Where they hung the jerk
That invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Chorus

Attributed to Harry McClintock.

Perhaps this song is one of the things which has influenced me to be footloose, amid others like King of the Road. A traveller am I.

CST Approved