Big Rock Candy Mountain
It’s not as sweet as you think. Have a suck on the original lyrics.
The hobo ballad ‘Big Rock Candy Mountain’ was first recorded in 1928 by Harry McClintock, or ‘Haywire Mac.’
Originally the song described a child being enticed into hobo life by tales of the ‘big rock candy mountain,’ a sugary-cute utopian paradise. But here are some of the original lyrics (censored when the song became popular):
The punk rolled up his big blue eyes
And said to the jocker, “Sandy,
I’ve hiked and hiked and wandered too,
But I ain’t seen any candy.
I’ve hiked and hiked till my feet are sore
And I’ll be damned if I hike any more
To be buggered sore like a hobo’s whore
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.
In the released version of the song the ‘cigarette trees’ became ‘peppermint trees,’ and the ’streams of alcohol’ trickling down the rocks became ’streams of lemonade.’ The ‘lake of gin’ is not mentioned, and the ‘lake of whiskey’ became a ‘lake of soda pop.’
I’d rather have a lake of whiskey any day.