Lyrics
[4/4, mod. with strong beat]
OIL IN THE CORNFIELD
–J. Wrabek
1.
Time was, when in Nebraska the corn grew ten feet high;
Then one day, the rain stayed away, and the corn lay down and died;
And if you're drivin' down the dusty road, you can watch the people go–
And some do well, the rest go to hell–like always, don't y' know.
2.
Some businessmen came into town, this year when it didn't rain,
And they said, "The Dust Bowl's comin' back, the rains won't fall again;
Better sell your land while you still can, while there's something left t' show–
‘Cause it'll be too late if y' try to wait till you're starving, don't y' know."
3.
And Jesse Miller said he'd sell his spread, but the askin' price was high;
He was certain it was oil that the strangers came t' buy;
And he said, "There was an ocean here, a million years ago–
And there's something turns that bottomland to oil, don't y' know."
CHORUS:
Yeah, there's oil in the cornfield, there's money down below,
And the men of the West have come at last to take Nebraska's gold;
They've dammed up all their rivers till there's no water left t' flow–
And there's fifty million people in California, don't y' know.
4.
Well, the strangers came for Jesse's land, but they didn't plan t' pay;
They brought along some papers takin' Jesse's land away;
‘Cause the bank foreclosed on the mortgage for the money that he owed–
And they moved in a crew that mornin' and started drillin', don't y' know.
5.
Movin' back into the city, living quiet, dying slow,
Where the street light keeps y' up at night, and the traffic noise below,
And y' buy your food at Safeway ‘cause the garden didn't grow–
And they pipe the water halfway from Minnesota, don't y' know.
CHORUS
Yeah, there's oil in the cornfield, there's money down below,
And the men of the West have come at last to take Nebraska's gold;
They've dammed up all their rivers till there's no water left t' flow–
And there's fifty million people in California, don't y' know.
6.
And now out in Jesse's cornfield, there's a big hole in the ground,
And pretty soon, there's gonna be a lot of them holes around;
Some folks'll sell, and other folks'll just be told t' go–
‘Cause y' can't let people stand in the way of Progress, don't y' know.
CHORUS
Yeah, there's oil in the cornfield, there's money down below,
And the men of the West have come at last to take Nebraska's gold;
They've dammed up all their rivers till there's no water left t' flow–
And there's fifty million people in California, don't y' know.
7.
And now the streets are gettin' empty, as the people move away;
And y' c'n hear and smell that oil well from a dozen miles away;
And it smells like Hell, but that oil well is all that seems t' grow–
And there's fifty million people in California, don't y' know.
END WITH MUSIC FROM FIRST LINE, GRADUALLY SLOWING DOWN
(C) 1975 J. Wrabek dba Outside Services Ltd. All the usual rights reserved just in case.
