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from "Ti Jean."
Kerouac spent a lot of time, when hitch-hiking, stealing on to empty boxcars. Often exposed to the elements of rain, wind and cold he resembled a "beat" Woody Guthrie. He often had to elude "yard keeps" whose job it was to keep "undesirables" off the trains. Kerouac was insatiable in his desire to be aligned with the simple and marginalized. When riding the rails, he savored the experience of one-ness he felt with the common man. A certain love for the agrarian life shows up in his work, especially in "On the Road." Kerouac's imagery of the the power, force and constancy of trains and rail lines permeated much of his "beat" work as well.

"From the the drought in Oklahoma
to the stockyards of Bakersfield
It's mostly bread you beg for
and some sawdust in your meal."

lyrics

BAKERSFIELD (DRIFTER'S SONG)
music/lyrics: bill mallonee

You crawled into that boxcar...thinkin' you were alone
eyes got adjusted to the light...and those 50 other souls
some runnin' from the law...some runnin' harder from the Lord
most lookin' for an honest job...to feed the kids back home

chorus:

from the drought in Oklahoma...to the stockyards of Bakersfield
it's mostly bread you begged for...and some sawdust in your meal
the only gold i ever found...the only treasure i did find
was looking into your sweet eyes...your body next to mine

how much of this is punishment? how much are ya' choosin'?
how much got set in motion....when the garden fell to ruins?
would you be my brother and sister...we all could use a home
the pride of man may stand tall for a spell...ah, but no one goes at this alone

There's so little we walk out with...and there's so much to be lost
seems to me it's easy to see...where all made of the same cloth
so you crawl into that boxcar...thinkin' yer alone
let your eyes rest with a hallowed-ness...on all those other souls

credits

from Hearts Crossing the Center Line​/​WPA 21 (Songs inspired by the writings of Jack Kerouac) 2011, track released January 11, 2011
Bill Mallonee: vocals, guitars, haromonica
Murish Rose: vocals, keyboards

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Bill Mallonee

Bill Mallonee is an Americana artist w/ 80 plus albums over a 30 year career. Voted by Paste Music Magazine #65 in their "Top 100 Living Songwriters" poll. He was the
founding member of Vigilantes of Love. He has worked with Mark Heard, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, & Peter Buck from REM.
His most recent work, "Lead On, Kindly Light" is a 23song double Cd released Feb 2020.
... more

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