We were out in Arizona *
On the Painted Desert ** ground
We had no place to call our own home
And work could not be found.
We started to California
But our money, it didn't last long
I want to be in Oklahoma
Be back in my old home.
A way out on the desert
Where water is hard to find
It's a hundred miles to Tempe***
And the wind blows all the time.
You will burn up in the day time
Yet you're cold when the sun goes down****
I wanna be in Oklahoma
Be back in my home town.
You people in Oklahoma
If you ever come west
Have your pockets full of money
And you better be well dressed.
If you wind up on the desert
You're gonna wish that you were dead
You'll be longing for Oklahoma
And your good old feather bed.
On the Painted Desert ** ground
We had no place to call our own home
And work could not be found.
We started to California
But our money, it didn't last long
I want to be in Oklahoma
Be back in my old home.
A way out on the desert
Where water is hard to find
It's a hundred miles to Tempe***
And the wind blows all the time.
You will burn up in the day time
Yet you're cold when the sun goes down****
I wanna be in Oklahoma
Be back in my home town.
You people in Oklahoma
If you ever come west
Have your pockets full of money
And you better be well dressed.
If you wind up on the desert
You're gonna wish that you were dead
You'll be longing for Oklahoma
And your good old feather bed.
* Arizona : uno degli stati della "Dust Bowl" (Conca della polvere)
** Painted Desert : Il "Deserto Dipinto" e' un deserto dell'Arizona noto per i suoi colori brillanti e variegati: questi includono la roccia rossa più comune, ma anche sfumature di lavanda.
*** Tempe : citta' dell'Arizona
**** L’escursione termica fra il giorno e la notte infatti puo’,nel “Deserto Dipinto , raggiungere i 20 gradi Celsius.
** Painted Desert : Il "Deserto Dipinto" e' un deserto dell'Arizona noto per i suoi colori brillanti e variegati: questi includono la roccia rossa più comune, ma anche sfumature di lavanda.
*** Tempe : citta' dell'Arizona
**** L’escursione termica fra il giorno e la notte infatti puo’,nel “Deserto Dipinto , raggiungere i 20 gradi Celsius.
Contributed by Pluck - 2025/8/1 - 00:26
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Fonte:Arizona, song lyrics from the Great Depression
Lyrics & Music :Jack Bryant (1)
People driven to the mass exodus from dust choked regions of America were forced to take only essential belongings that would fit into their Model A* or Hudson Roadster**. Among these migrant farmers were musicians who managed to squeeze in an old guitar or fiddle. And many were serious players, singers and songwriters. These were not professional performers or radio personalities but farmers who devoted spare time to music.
One such musician was Jack Bryant from Okomoggee, Oklahoma who spent five months on the road traveling to California. Along the way he wrote beautiful and powerful songs and played these with his wife and seven year old son, Donald and a brother, Jim. This song of his reflects disappointment in his circumstances while crossing the harsh desert and his homesickness.
Fonte :https://musicfromthedepression.com/arizona/
*Model A : modello di auto Ford prodotta tra il 1927 e il 1931.
** Hudson Roadster:The "Hudson roadster" typically refers to a two-door, open-top car, often with a sporty design.
Notes:
(1) - Jack Bryant was a farmer and musician from Okomogee, Oklahoma. Duringthe dust bowl, traveling to California, he spent some time at the FriebaughCamp in California run by the Farm Security Administration. This was from afield recording at that camp on the public record at the US Library of Congress.