Home

  Upcoming Events

  In The News

  Biography

  Lyrics
    Publisher Contacts
    BMI Song Titles

  Store

  About our Foundation

  Donate to our Foundation

  Guthrie Archives

  Programs & Exhibits

  Teacher's Curriculum

  Join our Mailing List

  Site Map

  Contact Us

 

 

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.

Available on:

Dust Bowl Ballads
Woody Guthrie

This Land Is Your Land: Asch Recordings Volume 1
Woody Guthrie

Library of Congress Recordings
Woody Guthrie

Tribute to Woody Guthrie
Various Artists
This Track Performed by Arlo Guthrie
Pastures Of Plenty
The Vanaver Caravan

Words and Music by Woody Guthrie
© Copyright 1961 (renewed) by TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc.

Contact The Publisher
The Richmond Organization (TRO)
(includes Ludlow Music, Folkways Music, Hollis Music)
Attention Kathryn Ostien / 266 West 37th Street, 17th Floor / New York, NY 10018-6609
Email: copyright@songways.com


Copyright 2000-2009, The Woody Guthrie Foundation. Privacy Policy / Contact us for questions or comments. Site design by Anna Canoni.