YUBA CITY (IF I HAD A LIST)
(Utah Phillips)

I came into to Yuba as soon as I read
Of all of those twenty-five hoboes found dead
I came in to find out if one of the slain
Could have answered to my brother's name

It might be your brother I just couldn't say
We hire lots of floaters who work by the day
Now I see his photo they might be the same
But I never did ask him his name

Chorus
If I had a list and if I only knew
I'd write down the names and I'd sing them to you
And when I got done, I'd sing them again
You'd all know each one had a name

He had a room and ran out on the rent,
Hired on a crew, I don't know where he went;
If I knew his boss, I might make a claim,
But I never did write down his name

He stopped for a drink every now and again,
Didn't look no different than hundreds of men
You know these old bums, they all look the same,
No reason to ask him his name

Chorus

He might have been Shorty, the feller I knew
We bunked in the empties when the season was through.
You know, I've been thinking, it sure is a shame
I never did ask him his name

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

Chorus