Single:
Going Up the Country entered the Australian singles chart* on 14 December 1968 and peaked at #2. The song was #25 on the Top 100 of 1969.
Album:
The song is on Living the Blues.
Songwriter:
Alan Wilson, adapted from a 1920s blues song by Henry Thomas.
Producers:
Canned Heat, Skip Taylor
Record label of Australian release:
Liberty
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Songfacts:
Canned Heat’s band members were notoriously avid record collectors and Going Up the Country was derived from an old and obscure Blues song called Bull Doze Blues by Henry Thomas. The song caught on in the US summer of 1969 and was very popular among Hippies who appreciated the nature theme. It was written by Alan Wilson, who was Canned Heat’s vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter.
Canned Heat played this at the Woodstock festival, which was a big moment for the band. Going Up the Country was kind of an anthem for the festival, as it described the pilgrimage to Yasgur’s farm in upstate New York where the event took place.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/canned-heat/going-up-the-country
Lyrics:
I′m going up the country
Baby, don’t you wanna go?
I′m going up the country
Baby, don’t you wanna go?
I’m going to some place
Where I′ve never been before
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
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