San Francisco Mabel Joy
San Francisco Mabel Joy a song by Mickey Newbury on Foxsoundi — Free Music, Smart Streaming for Everyone
San Francisco Mabel Joy Lyrics
[00:11.88] Oh, his daddy was an honest man,
[00:17.94] Red-dirt, Georgia farmer.
[00:23.39] His mama lived her short life,
[00:27.63] Havin' kids and balin' hay.
[00:32.93]
[00:36.68] He had fifteen years,
[00:40.31] And an ache inside to wander,
[00:46.56] Hopped a freight in Waycross,
[00:51.45] Wound up in L.A.
[00:54.56]
[00:57.66] Oh, the cold nights had no pity,
[01:02.42] On that Waycross, Georgia farm boy.
[01:08.45] Most days he went hungry,
[01:13.23] Then the summer came.
[01:16.70]
[01:20.22] He met a girl known on the Strip,
[01:23.94] As San Francisco Mabel Joy.
[01:30.40] Destitution's child,
[01:33.10] Born on an L.A. street called shame.
[01:38.40]
[01:41.91] Growing up came quietly,
[01:45.62] In the arms of Mabel Joy.
[01:50.95]
[01:53.13] And laughter found their mornings,
[01:57.39] It brought a meaning to his life.
[02:02.51]
[02:04.78] On the night before she left,
[02:07.87] Sleep came, left that Waycross country boy,
[02:14.35] With dreams of Georgia cotton,
[02:19.91] And a California wife.
[02:25.73] Sunday mornin' found him standin' 'neath,
[02:30.24] The red light at her door.
[02:37.76] When a right cross sent him reelin',
[02:41.99] Put him face down on the floor.
[02:46.78]
[02:48.88] Lord, in place of Mabel Joy he found.
[02:53.20] A merchant man marine.
[03:00.49] who growled, "Your Georgia neck is red,
[03:05.56] But, sonny, you're still green."
[03:07.94] He turned twenty-one,
[03:19.39] In a Gray Rock federal prison.
[03:24.49] Ol' judge had no mercy,
[03:28.63] On that Waycross, Georgia boy.
[03:33.48]
[03:38.70] Starin' at those four gray walls,
[03:41.86] In silence he would listen,
[03:47.46]
[03:49.89] To that midnight freight,
[03:52.77] He knew could take him back to Mabel Joy.
[04:00.14]
[04:02.39] Sunday mornin' found him lyin' 'neath
[04:07.04] The red light at her door,
[04:14.30] with a bullet in his side he cried,
[04:19.91] "Have you seen Mabel Joy?"
[04:23.50]
[04:27.39] Stunned and shaken, someone said,
[04:30.51] "Son, she don't live here no more.
[04:37.92] No, she left this house four years today,
[04:44.20] They say she's looking for some Georgia farm boy."
[04:52.43] [Vocal stylings to end.]
[05:12.96]
[00:17.94] Red-dirt, Georgia farmer.
[00:23.39] His mama lived her short life,
[00:27.63] Havin' kids and balin' hay.
[00:32.93]
[00:36.68] He had fifteen years,
[00:40.31] And an ache inside to wander,
[00:46.56] Hopped a freight in Waycross,
[00:51.45] Wound up in L.A.
[00:54.56]
[00:57.66] Oh, the cold nights had no pity,
[01:02.42] On that Waycross, Georgia farm boy.
[01:08.45] Most days he went hungry,
[01:13.23] Then the summer came.
[01:16.70]
[01:20.22] He met a girl known on the Strip,
[01:23.94] As San Francisco Mabel Joy.
[01:30.40] Destitution's child,
[01:33.10] Born on an L.A. street called shame.
[01:38.40]
[01:41.91] Growing up came quietly,
[01:45.62] In the arms of Mabel Joy.
[01:50.95]
[01:53.13] And laughter found their mornings,
[01:57.39] It brought a meaning to his life.
[02:02.51]
[02:04.78] On the night before she left,
[02:07.87] Sleep came, left that Waycross country boy,
[02:14.35] With dreams of Georgia cotton,
[02:19.91] And a California wife.
[02:25.73] Sunday mornin' found him standin' 'neath,
[02:30.24] The red light at her door.
[02:37.76] When a right cross sent him reelin',
[02:41.99] Put him face down on the floor.
[02:46.78]
[02:48.88] Lord, in place of Mabel Joy he found.
[02:53.20] A merchant man marine.
[03:00.49] who growled, "Your Georgia neck is red,
[03:05.56] But, sonny, you're still green."
[03:07.94] He turned twenty-one,
[03:19.39] In a Gray Rock federal prison.
[03:24.49] Ol' judge had no mercy,
[03:28.63] On that Waycross, Georgia boy.
[03:33.48]
[03:38.70] Starin' at those four gray walls,
[03:41.86] In silence he would listen,
[03:47.46]
[03:49.89] To that midnight freight,
[03:52.77] He knew could take him back to Mabel Joy.
[04:00.14]
[04:02.39] Sunday mornin' found him lyin' 'neath
[04:07.04] The red light at her door,
[04:14.30] with a bullet in his side he cried,
[04:19.91] "Have you seen Mabel Joy?"
[04:23.50]
[04:27.39] Stunned and shaken, someone said,
[04:30.51] "Son, she don't live here no more.
[04:37.92] No, she left this house four years today,
[04:44.20] They say she's looking for some Georgia farm boy."
[04:52.43] [Vocal stylings to end.]
[05:12.96]
From the album: Outlaws & Armadillos: Country's Roaring '70s
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