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"California, Here I Come" was written in 1924 by Bud De Sylva and Joseph Meyer. Al Jolson, who recorded the song, is also listed as a co-author, but most likely did not have any part in writing the song.

The song was a frequent candidate for the official state song of California until 1988, when that title went to "I Love You, California".

According to legend, the song was played by the ship's band of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) as she steamed to meet her destiny at the Battle of Midway. It would be the last time the carrier would ever pull out of Pearl Harbor; five days later, the carrier would rest on the ocean floor.

It was popularly used in Warner Bros. cartoons, typically in an instrumental version, whenever a character was going somewhere in a hurry. The classic example would be in Hair-Raising Hare. When the mad scientist (a Peter Lorre caricature) introduces Bugs Bunny to his monster (later dubbed "Gossamer"), Bugsy beats a hasty retreat, in cadence with the song's chorus. On his way out, he tells the scientist, "And don't think it hasn't been a little slice of heaven... 'cause it hasn't!"

One of the best-known and memorable renditions of the song was performed by the four principal cast members of the classic American television series "I Love Lucy" at the end of episode #110. The episode, which is entitled "California, Here We Come!" was filmed on November 4, 1954 and first aired on January 10, 1955. In the episode, the Ricardos and the Mertzes are shown seated in a mock-up of the Ricardo's brand new 1955 Pontiac two-tone open convertible, while a rear-screen projection suggests that they are in the process of crossing the Hudson River, headed west on the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan into New Jersey. In the episode, the foursome are just beginning a two-week driving tour across the United States from New York City to California, where Ricky (Desi Arnaz) is going to be making a movie. Ricky, who is shown behind the wheel, begins singing the song's chorus and he is soon joined by Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel (Vivian Vance), and then, finally, by a badly off-key but highly spirited Lucy (Lucille Ball). At one point, Fred sings part of the chorus as a short solo in a manner that is highly suggestive of the syncopated style often associated with Al Jolson, and Ricky joins in briefly with a similar apparent nod to the song's originator. (It should be noted that Frawley began his career as a Vaudeville performer and the style may have been his own, rather than Jolson's.) Still images of the famous scene, which have been popularized in posters and greeting card, are often used to typify the I Love Lucy series (all four principal cast members are shown together and facing the camera) and the scene offers a nostalgic view of America's love affair with the automobile in the 1950's.

Richard Nixon, in a set of instructions he left in case he were to die in office, directed that "California, Here I Come" should be played "softly and slowly" at his funeral.

When the wintry winds are blowing,
And the snow is starting in to fall,
Then my eyes turn westward,
Knowing that's the place
I love the best of all.
California, I've been blue,
Since I've been away from you,
I can't wait 'til I get going,
Even now I'm starting in to call:

Chorus:

California here I come,
Right back where I started from,
Where bowers of flowers bloom in the sun,
Each morning at dawning
Birdies sing an' ev'rything:
A sun-kiss'd miss said, "don't be late,"
That's why I can hardly wait,
Open up that Golden Gate,
California here I come

Repeat chorus

The Phantom Planet song "California" (the theme song to The O.C.) uses a modified version of the first two lines of the chorus, changing "I" to "we".

The song is referenced near the end of "Methuselah's Children" by Robert A. Heinlein.