Music Video: "Yuba City" by U Utah Phillips - Classic Protest Song about "Invisible" Farmworkers... Nameless People... Chords and Lyrics and Behind the Music...

Me Singing This Song...

Yuba City by U Utah Phillips
(A Farming Town between Chico and Sacramento on Highway 99 in California...) 
Based on a True Story...

 A                 E
I came into Yuba as soon as I read
   D                        A
Of all of those twenty-five hobos found dead
  A                       D
I came in to find out if one of the slain
            A           E           A
Could have answered to my brother's name
   A                        E
It might be your brother, I just couldn't say
   D                         A
We hire lots of floaters who work by the day;
    A                    D
Now I see his photo they might be the same
      A         E           A
But I never did ask him his name

           A                   E
Chorus: If I had a list and if I only knew
    E                          A
I'd write down their names and sing them to you
    A                    D
And when I got done, I'd sing them again
         A             E         A
So you'd all know each one had a name
 A                    E
He had a room and ran out on the rent
 D                       A
Hired on a crew, I don't know where he went
   A                  D
If I knew his boss, I might make a claim
      A          E             A
But I never did write down his name

   A                         E
He stopped for a drink every now and again
 D                             A
Didn't look no different than hundreds of men;
    A                          D
You know these old winos, they all look the same
   A         E           A
No reason to ask him his name
   A                         E
It might have been Shorty, a feller I knew
   D                              A
We bunked in the empties when the season was through
    A                         D
You know, I been thinking, it sure is a shame
  A         E           A
I never did ask him his name

   A                  E
We always abandon the old for the new
    D                      A
And second-hand people get thrown away, too;
  A                       D
I know it won't help, but still it explains
    A         E            A
Why no one remembers their names

We visited Yuba City Twice. Once for a Concert at the College by Anoushka Shankar... and the Other Time was Outdoors on a Hot Summer Night... Carlos Santana and The WHO...

U Utah Phillips Album Cover



Utah Singing the Song...

Behind the Music: 


Juan Vallejo Corona (February 7, 1934 – March 4, 2019) was a Mexican serial killer who was convicted of the murders of 25 migrant farm workers found buried in peach orchards along the Feather River in Sutter CountyCalifornia in 1971. At the time, his crimes were among the most notorious in U.S. history. Until the discovery of Dean Corll's victims in 1973, he was the deadliest known American serial killer.

Victims[edit]

All of Corona's victims were middle-aged Caucasian male drifters between the ages of 47 and 64 (except 3), most of them had criminal records and all but one were stabbed or slashed with a knife or machete.

Victims (charged)
NumberNameAgeDeath DateMethod of Killing
1John Joseph Haluka52February 25, 1971 – May 11, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
2Sigurd E. "Pete" Beierman62February 25, 1971 – May 11, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
3John Doe (4th victim found)UnknownFebruary 25, 1971 – May 11, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
4John Doe (7th victim found)UnknownFebruary 25, 1971 – May 11, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
5William Emery Kamp62February 26, 1971 – May 12, 1971Shot in the head w/ a 9 mm.
6Clarence Hocking53February 26, 1971 – May 12, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
7John Doe (10th victim found)UnknownFebruary 26, 1971 – May 12, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
8John Doe (12th victim found)UnknownFebruary 26, 1971 – May 12, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
9Albert Leon "Scratchy" Hayes58February 27, 1971 – May 13, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
10Warren Jerome Kelley62On or around March 30, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
11John Henry Jackson64May 3, 1971 - May 14, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
12Joseph J. Maczak54April 26, 1971 – May 21, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
13Mark Beverly Shields56On or around April 28, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
14Donald Dale "Red" Smith60April 30, 1971 – May 11, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
15James Wylie Howard64May 1, 1971 – May 13, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
16Sam Bonafiede (a.k.a. Joe Carriveau)55On or around May 6, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
17Edward Martin Cupp43May 9, 1971 – May 13, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
18Charles Levy Fleming67On or around May 11, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
19Jonah Raggio Smallwood56On or around May 12, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
20Elbert J.T. Riley45On or around May 12, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
21Lloyd Wallace Wenztel60May 14, 1971 – May 22, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
22Paul Buel Allen59On or around May 15, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
23Raymond Reand Muchache47On or around May 18, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
24Kenneth Edward Whitacre40On or around May 19, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.
25Melford Everett Sample59On or around May 21, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.


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