The Big Rock Candy Mountain-Burl Ives/Les Paul and Mary Ford

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees The soda water fountain where the lemonade springs And the bluebird sings in that Big Rock Candy Mountain On a summer day In the month of May A burly bum came ahiking Down a shady lane Through the sugar cane He was looking for his liking As he strolled 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 Oh the buzzin' of the bees in 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 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 Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees The soda water fountain where the lemonade springs And the bluebird sings in that Big Rock Candy Mountain 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 Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees The soda water fountain where the lemonade springs And the bluebird sings in that Big Rock Candy Mountain 1. 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: 3. 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 Oh the buzzin' of the bees in 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 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. Oh the buzzin' of the bees in 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 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: