Kern River Blues Song Lyrics and Chords by Merle Haggard
Kern River Blues
Written and Recorded by Merle Haggard
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Well I'm leaving town tomorrow getting' my breakf
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ast in
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the
sky
Well I'
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m leavin' in the early morning eat my breakfast in
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the
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Be a
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donut on a paper drink my coffee on the
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fly
Cause I'm flyin' out on jet plane gonna leave t
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his
tow
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n
behind
I'
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m flyin' out on jet plane gonna leave this t
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own
behind
They done
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moved the city limits out by the county
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line
Put my head up to the window watched the city
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fade
a
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way
Put my
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head close to the window watch Oildale fade
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away
Now the
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blues back in the 30's just like the blue
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s
today
There used to be a river here runnin€
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™ deep an
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d
wide
Well they
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used to have Kern River runnin' deep an
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d
wide
Then some
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body stole the water another politician
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lied
When you close down all the honky tonks the city
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died at
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night
When you
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close down all the honky tonks the city died at
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night
When it
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hurt somebody's feelings well the wrong ain't ne
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ver
right
Well I'm leavin' town forever kiss an old
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boxcar
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goodbye
Well I'
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m leavin' town forever kiss an old boxcar
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goodbye
I dumped my
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blues out in the river before Kern River'
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s
dry
FAQ
Who sang the the song Kern River Blues?
- The song Kern River Blues was sang by Merle Haggard.
Who is Merle Haggard?
- Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 - April 6, 2016) was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, during the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled after the death of his father, and he was incarcerated several times in his youth. After being released from San Quentin State Prison in 1960, he managed to turn his life around and launch a successful country music career. He gained popularity with his songs about the working class that occasionally contained themes contrary to anti-Vietnam War sentiment of some popular music of the time. Between the 1960s and the 1980s, he had 38 number-one hits on the US country charts, several of which also made the Billboard all-genre singles chart. Haggard continued to release successful albums into the 2000s.
He received many honors and awards for his music, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2010), a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2006), a BMI Icon Award (2006), and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977), Country Music Hall of Fame (1994) and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (1997). He died on April 6, 2016—his 79th birthday—at his ranch in Shasta County, California, having recently suffered from double pneumonia.
