I’ve heard of a land to the northward,
Read about it out of a book,
It seems that it’s name is Oregon,
Been dyin’ to give it a look.
But it seems no one is quite sure,
Of what the place is about
And all that try to describe it,
Just leave me farther in doubt.
I was told that the mountains were taller,
The streams were deeper and cold,
The sky comes down to the treetops,
And the streets were paved with pure gold.
Could it be that someone is lying,
Could it be that it’s all a big joke,
That maybe it isn’t so pretty,
Just maybe it’s people are broke.
I seem to recall the others,
The ones who lived in the East,
And how we in California,
Suddenly turned into a beast.
We told them about all the riches,
We bragged about all the jobs,
Till soon they all started coming,
The stupid, the beggars, the slobs.
And soon what to us was heaven,
Soon turned into a hell,
For they just kept coming and coming,
Till soon they poisoned the well.
Our country roads once so charming,
Turned into a freeway bog,
And our western air so refreshing,
Became just a gaseous smog.
Our mountains and trees once so beautiful,
Turned into a big pile of rocks,
And our lakes that breathed of the lilacs,
Smelled like dirty old socks.
I guess there’s not any wonder,
Because of the stories we told,
The wonderful place California,
Soon down the river was sold.
Should those who lived East of the Rockies,
Be blamed for the mess we are in,
Or do each of us individually,
Share in some of the sin?
We can’t return to the beginning,
And there’s no way to bring back the past,
For those with the advertising,
Are going to make it last.
So to those of you in Oregon,
Take some friendly advice,
Say nothing about it’s wonders,
Try not to make it so nice.
Remember old California,
And what they did to our state,
A place of great natural beauty,
A place we have now grown to hate.
You say that your silence is golden,
You say that your valleys are deep,
I guess I’d better start packing,
I’ve got a promise to keep.
So after I come to your valleys,
Build all of your fences high,
And stop all of your advertising,
Till long after I die.