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Streets Of Bakersfield Lyrics
I came here looking for something
I couldn't find anywhere else
Hey, I'm not trying to be nobody
Just want a chance to be myself
I've done a thousand miles of thumbin'
I've worn holes in both my heels
Trying to find me something better
On the streets of Bakersfield
CHORUS:
You don't know me, but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?
Spent some time in San Francisco
Spent a night there in the can
They threw this drunk man in my jail cell
Took fifteen dollars from that man
Left him my watch and my old house key
Don't want folks thinkin' that I'd steal
Then I thanked him as I was leaving
And I headed for the streets of Bakersfield
CHORUS x 2
How many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?
Who is the other singer in this song? Is it Buck Owens?
It is Buck Owens. Buck was from Bakersfield and created the country music scene there.
For me the song is simple and sincere plea against prejudice. You can't help but feel the Mexican Ranchera influence of the song, or deny Buck Owens' respect for Latino culture he was in contact with throughout his life, and its influence in his music. Perhaps the protagonist of the song is disliked just because of his heritage, or perhaps for the shabby appearance of drifter. Either way, have you walked in his shoes?
To me it's about Mexican Immigrants coming to the US and working for a better life for themselves and others. Bakersfield is a place where they find work and bust their asses for money so they can support their family. They face prejudice and discrimination and they tell those who judge them, "how many of you who judge me can do my job?"
So, I've thought about this song ever since I first heard it. To me (And of course I'm probably wrong), it's not only about the immigrants coming from south of the border, but also there was a time, in America, when people from Oklahoma were going to California to escape the horrid conditions left by the Dust Bowl. They were hated by many of the locals. Police were put on the California/Arizona border to keep them out. There was an "Anti-Okie" law that was later found to be unconstitutional but many of the migrants were treated as bad as they do the hispanic immigrants are today.
Who cares what I think? According to the artist, the song was written by Homer Joy, and was about his tribulations in Bakersfield trying to get someone to record it. He apparently knocked on Owens’ door (and others) for weeks without success, but his persistence finally paid off and Owens met with him, and loved it. “You don’t know me, but you don’t like me,” is aimed at all the musicians in Bakersfield that refused to meet with him (including Owens).