San Francisco Mable Joy
Journey of Longing: Waycross to LA, Love & Loss
Lyrics
My daddy was an honest man just a red dirt Georgia farm boy
Reflecting on the honesty of the narrator's father, a farm boy from Georgia.
My mama spent her young life raisin' kids and bailin' hay
Describing the narrator's mother raising children and doing farm work.
Now I was just fifteen when I ached inside to wander
Expressing the narrator's longing for exploration at the age of fifteen.
So hopped a freight in Waycross and I rode it to LA
Narrator hitchhiking from Waycross to Los Angeles.
I met a girl known on the Strip as San Francisco's Mabel Joy
Meeting a girl named Mabel Joy on the San Francisco Strip.
Destitution's child born on an LA street called Shame
Describing Mabel Joy as a destitution's child born on a street called Shame in LA.
The sleep came and left this little Waycross country boy
Reflecting on the impact of city life on the narrator.
Mabel Joy was gone Lord I'd never see her again
Mabel Joy leaves, and the narrator regrets not seeing her again.
Growin' up came quietly in the arms of Mabel Joy
Growing up and finding meaning in life through experiences with Mabel Joy.
Laughter found the mornings brought the meaning to my life
Laughter and joy brought by mornings with Mabel Joy.
I woke up one day Lord finding I was by myself
Narrator waking up alone with dreams of Georgia and a wife in California.
With dreams of Georgia cotton and a California wife
Reflecting on the impact of loneliness and dreams.
Lord the cold nights had no pity on a Waycross Georgia farm boy
Describing harsh conditions faced by the narrator during cold nights.
Most days he went hungry and then the summer came
Experiencing hunger during most days, especially in summer.
Sunday morning found me standin' neath the red light at her door
Standing outside Mabel Joy's door on Sunday mornings.
Right cross sent me reelin' put my face down on the floor
Narrator being physically attacked, possibly due to Mabel Joy.
In place of my Mabel Joy he found a merchant mad marine
Mabel Joy replaced by a merchant marine, highlighting a change in relationships.
Who said your Georgia neck is red but Sonny you're still green
Encounter with a judgmental person who comments on the narrator's background.
But I turned twenty one in a grey rock Federal prison
Narrator turning twenty-one in prison, facing a lack of mercy from the judge.
The judge had no mercy for this Waycross Georgia boy
Legal consequences for the Waycross Georgia boy.
Sometimes at night in silence Lord I'd listen
Reflecting on silent nights and a desire to return to Mabel Joy.
That midnight freight to take me back to Mabel Joy
Expressing a longing for a midnight freight train to take the narrator back to Mabel Joy.
The cold nights had no pity on this Waycross Georgia farm boy
Describing the continuing harsh nights for the Waycross Georgia farm boy.
Springtime turned to summer and then the winter came
Seasonal changes from spring to winter.
Starin' at those four grey walls in silence Lord I'd listen
Contemplating life in prison, listening to the distant sound of a train whistle.
Somewhere's in the distance to the whistle of a train
Highlighting a connection between the narrator's thoughts and the distant train.
Sunday morning found me lying neath the red light at her door
Returning to Mabel Joy's door on a Sunday morning, now with a gunshot wound.
With a bullet in my side I cried have you seen Mabel Joy
Asking about Mabel Joy with a bullet wound, indicating desperation.
Stunned and shaken someone said son she don't live here anymore
Learning that Mabel Joy left the town ten years ago, leaving the narrator stunned.
She left this town ten years ago I heard she's looking for
Community awareness of Mabel Joy searching for a Georgia farm boy.
Some Georgia farm boy
Reference to the narrator as a Georgia farm boy, closing the narrative.
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