Born On The Bayou Lyrics

Now when I was just a little boy standin' to my Daddy's knee
my Poppa said son don't let the man get you do what he done to me
'cause he'll get you 'cause he'll get you now now.

I can remember the fourth of July runnin' through the backwood bare.
And I can still hear my old hound dog barkin' chasin' down a hoodoo there
chasin' down a hoodoo there.

Born on the bayou
born on the bayou
born on the bayou.

Wish I was back on the bayou rollin' with some Cajun Queen.
Wishin' I were a freight train, oh, just a-chooglin' on down to New Orleans.

Born on the bayou
born on the bayou
born on the bayou.

I can remember the fourth of July, runnin' through the backwood bare.
And I can still hear my old hound dog barkin', chasin' down a hoodoo there,
chasin' down a hoodoo there.

Born on the bayou
born on the bayou
born on the bayou.
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Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

From the horse's mouth:

"Born on the Bayou" is the first track on Creedence Clearwater Revival's second album, Bayou Country.

As the author, John Fogerty, commented:

"Born on the Bayou" was vaguely like "Porterville," about a mythical childhood and a heat-filled time, the Fourth of July. I put it in the swamp where, of course, I had never lived. It was late as I was writing. I was trying to be a pure writer, no guitar in hand, visualizing and looking at the bare walls of my apartment. Tiny apartments have wonderful bare walls, especially when you can't afford to put anything on them. "Chasing down a hoodoo." Hoodoo is a magical, mystical, spiritual, non-defined apparition, like a ghost or a shadow, not necessarily evil, but certainly other-worldly. I was getting some of that imagery from Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters."
Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

What's a hoodoo?

@Fully__Completely A "hoodoo" is a Cajun spook or evil spirit, usually inhabiting the Louisiana swamps

Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

He's definitely saying "hoodoo there", not "hoodoo hare"

It's an awesome awesome song :)

Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Lynard Skynyrd is from Talahassee Florida, not Alabama.

I can see how people get confused easily on things like that.

Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Self-correction: The song is "Proud Mary" not "Rollin' On a River."

Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

yeah, that's bogus. This song isn't about a BMX rider. "The man" probably refers to the government, or maybe his boss. Maybe his dad told him not to trade his hours for dollars, like he did.

Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

A hoodoo is a practitioner of voodoo (this makes sense as there are were high racial tensions in the south, and most followers of voodoo/hoodoo were black), though it could also be used to describe a ghost/nothing.

Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Yeah, this songs excellent. Nicely toasted number to jam out for a rockin' 5 mins.

Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

If you listen a live version it almost sounds like he is saying HooDoo Hare as in a rabbit. Which would make a lot more sense.

Cover art for Born On The Bayou lyrics by Creedence Clearwater Revival

This is my favorite CCR song. Definitely about a childhood of some sort.