Conelrad

Elton Britt’s peppy ode to uranium miners from 1955.

Uranium Fever: Elton Britt [1955]

Well, I don’t know, but I’ve been told

Uranium ore’s worth more than gold

Sold my Cad’, I bought me a Jeep

I’ve got that bug and I can’t sleep

Refrain: Uranium fever has done and got me down

Uranium fever is spreadin’ all around

With a Geiger counter in my hand

I’m a-goin’ out to stake me some government land

Uranium fever has done and got me down

Well I had talk with the AEC*

And they brought out some maps that looked good to me

And one showed me a spot that he said he knowed

So I straddled my Jeep and headed down the road

I reckon I drove about 100 miles

Down a bumpy road out through the wilds

When all of sudden I bounced to a stop

At the foot of a mountain, didn’t have no top

Refrain

Well I took my Geiger and I started to climb

Right up to the top where I thought I’d find

A hunk of rock that would make it click

Just like I’d read about Vernon Pick

On the second day, I made the top

And I’m tellin’ you, Steve, I was ready to stop

The only clickin’ that I heard that day

Was the bones in my back that had gone astray

Refrain

Well, you pack up your things

You head out again

Into some unknown spot where nobody’s been

You reach the spot where your fortune lies

You find it’s been staked by 17 other guys

Well, I ain’t kiddin’, I ain’t gonna quit

That bug’s done caught me and I’ve been bit

So with a Geiger counter and a pick in my hand

I’ll keep right on stakin’ that government land

Refrain

*The Atomic Energy Commission