Tom Joad is the story of
the Grapes of Wrath.
Maybe you remember seeing that
moving picture.
The folks back around
Oklahoma and Arkansas,
parts of Texas and Nebraska and Kansas
all got dusted out of their homes
back in the late 20s and early 30s,
and here's the story about it.
Tom Joad got out of the old McAllister pen,
It was there that he got his parole.
After four long years on a
man -killin' charge,
Tom Joad come a -walkin'
down the road.
The poor boy Tom Joad
come a -walkin' down the road.
Tom Joad, he met a truck -drivin' man,
It was there that he caught him a -ridin',
Said, I just got loose from
the MacAllister pen,
On a charge to call home his side,
On a charge to call home his side.
Truck rolled away in a cloud of dust,
Tommy turned his face towards home,
Met Preacher Casey and
they had a little drink,
And he found that his family,
they was gone,
And poor boy,
he found that his family was gone.
He found his mother's
old -fashioned shoe,
And he found his daddy's hat.
Found little Muley and Muley said,
They'd been tractored
out by the cats.
Tom's entractored out by the cats.
He went on down to the neighbor's farm,
And he found his family.
Took preacher Casey
and loaded in a car,
And his mammy said, got to get away.
Tom, his mammy said, we got to get away.
The twelve of the Joads
made a mighty heavy load,
But Grandpa Joad didn't cry.
He picked up a handful of
land in his hand,
And said, I'm stickin'
with my farm till I die.
I'm stayin' with the farm till I die.
Fed some short ribs and coffee
and soothing syrup
But Grandpa Joe did die
Buried Grandpa Joe on the
side of the road
Buried Grandma on the California side
Buried Grandma on the California side
Stood on the mountain and
looked to the west
And it looked like the promised land,
That big green valley with a
river runnin' through.
There was work for every single hand,
They thought, work for every single hand.
The Joes rolled into a jungle camp,
It was there that they cooked them a stew.
And the hungry little kids
in the jungle camp
Said, we'd like to have some too,
yes, we'd like to have some too.
A deputy sheriff fired loose at a man
And he shot a woman in the back
But before he could take his aim again,
It was Preacher Casey dropped
him in his tracks,
good boy, Preacher Casey
dropped him in his tracks.
They handcuffed Casey
and they took him to jail,
and then he got away,
and he met Tom Jones by the old river bridge,
and these few words he did say,
prayed to Casey, these few
Two words he did say,
I preached for the Lord a
mighty long time,
Preached about the rich and the poor,
Us workin' folks has got
to get together,
Cause we ain't any chance anymore,
God knows we ain't got
a chance anymore.
Then the deputies come,
and Tom and Casey run
To the bridge where the water runs down.
And the vigilante thugs hit
Casey with a club,
And they laid Preacher
Casey on the ground.
Poor Casey, they laid Preacher
Casey on the ground.
Then Tom picked up that
deputy's club
and he hit him over the head.
Then Tom Joe took flight
in the dark rainy night
and left a deputy and a
preacher line dead.
Two men and a preacher
and a deputy line dead.
Tom hung back where his
mother was asleep,
And he woke her up out of bed,
And he kissed good -bye
to the mother that he loved,
And he said, what preacher Casey said,
Tom Joe,
He said, what preacher Casey said,
Everybody might be just one big soul,
Well, it looks that way to me.
So everywhere that you look
in the day or the night,
That's where I'm a -gonna be.
Ma, that's where I'm a -gonna be.
Wherever little children are
hungry and dry,
Wherever people ain't free,
Wherever men are fight
ing for their rights,
That's where I'm gonna be,
That's where I'm gonna
be.
www
Ramblin' Jack Elliott 
