 The story involves an Oregon family of gyppo loggers who cut and procure trees for a local mill in opposition to unionized workers who are on strike.Kesey took the title from the song "Goodnight, Irene", popularized by Lead Belly.Sometimes I lives in the country
Sometimes I lives in the town
Sometimes I haves a great notion
To jump into the river an' drown 

The story centers on the Stamper family, a hard-headed logging clan in the fictional town of Wakonda, on the Oregon coast, in the early 1960s.