My driftin' memory goes back to the spring of 42
When I was just a child in Momma's arms
My daddy plowed the fields and prayed and did all he could do
To save that broke-down Oklahoma farm

Then one night I heard my daddy sayin' to my momma
That he finally saved enough for us to go
California was his dream, a paradise that he had seen
The pictures and the magazines had told him so

[Chorus]
California cotton fields, where labor camps were filled with worried men and broken dreams
California cotton fields was as close to wealth as Daddy ever came

Almost everything we owned was sold or left behind
From Daddy's tools to the fruit that Momma canned
Some folks came to say farewell and see all we had to sell
Some just came to shake my Daddy's hand

The Model T was loaded down and California bound
The dream of hope was just four days away
But the only change that I remember seein' in my daddy
Was when his brown hair turned to silver gray

[Chorus]

Writer : FRAZIER/MONTGOMERY
Copyright : Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC