He 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.
"Born on the Bayou" is an example of "swamp rock",a genre associated with Fogerty, Little Feat/Lowell George, the Band, J.J. Cale and Tony Joe White. The guitar setting for the intro is over-driven with amp tremolo on a slow setting; Fogerty uses a Gibson ES-175 (which was stolen from his car soon after recording this track).
Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford has said of the song in 1998:
My favorite record of ours is "Born on the Bayou." It's just an ass-kicker and a rolling track and, basically, where that song started was at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The boys got all their new toys. The Kuston amps were supposed to show up that night and, by God, they did. They're out there playing with them and getting sounds, and here I am with the same set. John's out there working with feedback, sorting that out, and I was tapping here and there and they're telling me, "Be quiet," and I got tired of it and I just started out with that quarter note beat that I played on "Suzie Q" but I changed the foot pattern, and that was sort of the beginning of it. That's how it started, that feedback beginning and that quarter note beat.
According to Clifford, "Born on the Bayou" was originally supposed to be released as the A-side of the single with "Proud Mary."
Clifford said of the song "I didn’t think 'Proud Mary' was that good, if you want to know the truth about it. I just didn’t like it. I liked 'Born on the Bayou' — to this day, it’s still my favorite Creedence song. It’s nasty, and I was disappointed when [the single] got flipped."
Clifford added that “I must say I’ve had a change of heart over 40 years, and I love ‘Proud Mary.”
Creedence Clearwater Revival performed the song at Woodstock.
Born on the Bayou
Creedence Clearwater Revival Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Standin' to my daddy's knee
My Poppa said, "Son, don't let the man getcha, do what he done to me"
'Cause he'll get ya
'Cause he'll get ya now, now
And I can remember the Fourth of July
Runnin' through the backwood bayAnd 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, Lord, Lord
Wish I were back on the Bayou
Rollin' with some Cajun Queen
Wishin' I were a fast freight train
Oh, just a-chooglin' on down to New Orleans
Born on the Bayou
Born on the Bayou, em, em, em
Born on the Bayou
Do it, do it, do it, do it
Oh, get back boy
And I can remember the Fourth of July
Runnin' through the backwood bay
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, Lord, Lord
Born on the Bayou
Alright, do
Do it, do it, do it, do it
Mm okay
The lyrics to Creedence Clearwater Revival's song Born On The Bayou tell the story of the singer’s upbringing in the bayou, and the influence it had on him. He remembers his father warning him not to follow in his footsteps and become a victim of the “man.” The singer fondly reminisces about Fourth of July celebrations in the backwoods bayou, where he ran around with his hound dog chasing “hoodoos” - an African American term for a supernatural creature or spiritual force. He expresses a longing to be back on the bayou, rolling with a Cajun Queen and riding on a fast freight train to New Orleans.
The song is a celebration of the singer’s cultural heritage, and the impact it had on his life. It represents a longing for a simpler way of life, and the freedom to be who you want to be. The bayou symbolizes a place where one can escape the constraints of society and connect with nature and tradition. The song's powerful rhythm and swampy sound convey the raw energy and passion of the bayou's inhabitants.
Line by Line Meaning
Now when I was just a little boy
The singer is reminiscing about his childhood.
Standin' to my daddy's knee
The singer was close to his father.
My Poppa said, "Son, don't let the man getcha, do what he done to me"
The singer's father warned him not to let the system get the best of him.
'Cause he'll get ya
The system will catch and punish you if you don't comply.
'Cause he'll get ya now, now
The artist's father reiterates the point and explains the urgency of following his advice.
And I can remember the Fourth of July
The singer recalls a particular memory from his childhood.
Runnin' through the backwood bay
The singer was playing and running around in nature.
And I can still hear my old hound dog barkin'
The artist remembers details of the memory, like the sound of his dog barking.
Chasin' down a hoodoo there
The artist saw his dog chasing something mysterious or magical.
Born on the Bayou
The artist is proud of his upbringing and the place he comes from.
Wish I were back on the Bayou
The singer feels nostalgic and wants to relive his past.
Rollin' with some Cajun Queen
The artist fantasizes about being with a beautiful Cajun woman.
Wishin' I were a fast freight train
The singer wants to escape and go somewhere fast.
Oh, just a-chooglin' on down to New Orleans
The singer wants to go to New Orleans, and describes it in a fun, musical way.
Alright, do
The song's chorus repeats, urging the listener to keep going and do what they need to do.
Mm okay
A final acknowledgement, as the song ends on a rumination of the past.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Cameron Fogerty
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marcosbragini4310
I'm from Argentina, I'm 37 years old and I want to tell you that CCR is my grandmother's favourite band. This music has shaped the youth of 3 generation in this country. CCR is universal
@richardbennett1856
Yes, it translates well to any country with that sound.
BA rocks out anyway.
It's one of the Great Cities.
@daianerviti3563
Oh wow... Greetings from Mar del Plata 🤣
@marcosbragini4310
@@daianerviti3563😂😂
@tishhosmer3996
As one grandmother to another kiss for me❤❤❤Florida
@MikeNash-ej6ke
It reached me on The Apache Rez many moons ago. Classic jams for all people everywhere
@meanstavrakas1044
Quite possible the very BEST Rock Band from the United States of the 60s-70s.
@tolga-06-58
I'm a 53 years old foreigner living in Switzerland (turkish origin). Back then 30 years ago when I was hustling with records - mainly Funk/Jazz/Urban genre - this one had slipped into my stack of records at some point. One day together with a good friend of me (same migration background) we discovered the great tracks on that LP masterpiece, ordered it as a CD and rocked it in the car wherever we travelled. I miss hardly these days.
@wadefunderburg
My dad, born and raised in Louisiana, recounts hearing this song back in the late 60s thinking awesome local band, then being shocked to find out they were from California 😅
@gboard17
I didn't know they were a California band.