Released: August 28, 1988
Songwriter: Woody Guthrie
Producer: Don Gehman John Mellencamp
[Verse 1]
Lots of folks back East, they say, is leavin' home every day
Beatin' the hot old dusty way to the California line
Across 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"
[Chorus]
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 to see
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi
[Verse 2]
If you want to buy you a home or a farm that can't deal nobody harm
Or take a vacation by the mountains or sea
Don't swap your old cow for a car, you better stay right where you are
You better take this little tip from me
'Cause I look through the want ads every day
But the headlines on the papers always say
[Chorus]
Oh, if you ain't got the do re mi, boys, if you ain't got the do re mi
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas
Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee
California is the garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or to see
But believe it or not, you won't find this place so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the 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
Across 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"
[Chorus]
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 to see
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi
[Verse 2]
If you want to buy you a home or a farm that can't deal nobody harm
Or take a vacation by the mountains or sea
Don't swap your old cow for a car, you better stay right where you are
You better take this little tip from me
'Cause I look through the want ads every day
But the headlines on the papers always say
[Chorus]
Oh, if you ain't got the do re mi, boys, if you ain't got the do re mi
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas
Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee
California is the garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or to see
But believe it or not, you won't find this place so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi
more tracks from the album
From the album
- Folkways: A Vision Shared (1998)
John Mellencamp popular songs
- Jack & Diane
- Pink Houses
- Hurts So Good
- Small Town
- Check It Out
- Authority Song
- Rain on the Scarecrow
- I Need a Lover
- Cherry Bomb
- For the Children
- Farewell Angelina
- R. Gang
- To M.G. (Wherever She May Be)
- Worn Out Nervous Condition
- Yours Forever
- No One Cares About Me
- Forgiveness
- L.U.V.
- This May Not Be the End of the World
- County Fair
- Goodnight
- Young Without Lovers
- Another Sunny Day 12/25
- Serious Business