Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard & Janie Fricke
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
This is a lover’s lament; it’s about a girl drowning in the Kearn River that separates Bakersfield from Oildale (the Okie settlement) in California.
Bob Dylan is a Haggard fan, and loves “Kern River.” He’s said of the song:
Sometimes you forget about how much natural-born heartbreak there is in a...
I'll never swim Kern River again
It was there that I met her
It was there that I lost my best friend
And now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may drown in still water
But I'll never swim Kern River again
I grew up in an oil town
But my gusher never came in
And the river was a boundary
Where my darlin' and I used to swim
One night in the moonlight
The swiftness swept her life away
And now I live on Lake Shasta
And Lake Shasta is where I will stay
There's the South San Joaquin
Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found
And there's a place called Mount Whitney
From where the mighty Kern River comes down
Well, it's not deep nor wide
But it's a mean piece of water, my friend
And I may cross on the highway
But I'll never swim Kern River again
I'll never swim Kern River again
It was there I first met her
And it was there that I lost my best friend
Now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may drown in still water
But I'll never swim Kern River again
I'll never swim Kern River again
It was there I first met her
It was there that I lost my best friend
Now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may cross on the highway
But I'll never swim Kern River again
Kern River was written by Merle Haggard.
Kern River was produced by Merle Haggard & Grady Martin.