BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN
Harry McClintock
One evening as the sun went down and the jungle fire was burning
Down the track came a hobo hiking and he said boys I'm not turning
I'm headin 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 are all empty and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees and the cigarette trees
Where 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 and 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-tricklin' 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 handled 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
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BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN
(Traditional)
Burl Ives
Also recorded by:
Tom Chapin, Dick Curless, Red Grammer.
Oh, the buzzin’ of the bees and the cigarette trees
The soda water fountain
Where the lemonade springs and the bluebird sings
In that Big Rock Candy Mountain.
On a summer’s day, in the month of May
A billy-bum come hikin’
Down a shady lane near the sugar cane
He was lookin’ for his liklin’
As he strolled along he sung 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.
Oh, the buzzin’ of the bees and the cigarette trees
The soda water fountain
Where the lemonade springs and the bluebird sings
In that Big Rock Candy Mountain.
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 farmers’ trees are full of fruit
The barns are full of hay
I want to go where there ain’t no snow
Where the sleet don’t fall and the wind don’t blow
In that Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Oh, the buzzin’ of the bees and the cigarette trees
The soda water fountain
Where the lemonade springs and the bluebird sings
In that Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Oh, the buzzin’ of the bees and the cigarette trees
The soda water fountain
Where the lemonade springs and the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.
(Contributed by Bill Huntley - October 2007)