Lyrics

Jonie sit right down here
Money’s gone the time is near
We cannot live and die where we were born
Jonie pray I have a lead
From Bakersfield to Boise
I’m leaving California in the morn

We’re trading oats for open grass
Hauling stock with cheaper gas
Heat and light we soon now will afford
Jonie we can buy a home
Trust in God and Idaho
We’re leaving California in the morn

I’m loading Sonny in the trailer
There’s a small ranch on the Snake
Jonie it’s the Promised Land
For cattle kings and cowboy hands
We’re leaving California in the morn

Hauling hay or asphaltine
Don’t matter in the San Joaquin
We cannot save if we will always owe
We’ll find more time to laugh and hope
Stake a claim on the Western Slope
We’re leaving California in the morn

I’m loading Laurie in the trailer
There’s a small ranch on the Snake
Jonie it’s the Promised Land
For cattle kings and cowboy hands
We’re leaving California in the morn
Jonie it’s the Promised Land
For cattle kings and cowboy hands
We’re leaving California in the morn

Words and Music by Chris Ryden – BMI 2020