San Francisco Mabel Joy Song Lyrics and Chords by Waylon Jennings
San Francisco Mabel Joy
Recorded by Waylon Jennings written Mickey Newbury
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His daddy was a honest man a
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red dirt Georgia
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farmer
His mama lived a short life having kids and bailing
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hay
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He had fifteen years of
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ache inside to
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wander
He jumped a freight in Waycross
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and wound up in
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L.A.
The cold nights had no pity on that
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Waycross Georgia
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farm
boy
Most days he went hungry then the summer
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came
He
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met a girl known on the strip as
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San Francisco
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Mabel
Joy
Destitutions child born on an
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L.A. street called
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shame
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Growing up came quietly in the arms of Mabel
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Joy
Laughter found their mornings it brought new meaning to his
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life
The
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night before she left sleep came and found that Waycross country boy
With dreams of
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Georgia cotton and
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California
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wife
Sunday
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morning found him beneath the red light at her
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door
A right cross sent him reeling and put him face down on the
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floor
In
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place of Mabel Joy he found a
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merchant mad ma
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rine
He said your Georgia neck is red
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but sonny you're still
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green
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He turned twenty-one in
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grey rock federal
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prison
The judge had no mercy on this Waycross Georgia
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boy
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Staring at those four grey wall in
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silence Lord he
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listened
To the midnight freight he knew could take him
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back to Mabel
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Joy
Sunday
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morning found him beneath the red light at her door
With a bullet in his side he cried have you
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seen Mabel
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Joy
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Stunned and shaken someone said she don't live here no
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more
She left this house four years ago they
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say she was looking
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for
Some Georgia
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farm
boy
FAQ
Who sang the the song San Francisco Mabel Joy?
- The song San Francisco Mabel Joy was sang by Waylon Jennings.
Who is Waylon Jennings?
- Waylon Arnold Jennings (born Wayland Arnold Jennings June 15, 1937 - February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as one of the founding pioneers of the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Jennings started to play guitar at age of eight and first performed at age 12 on KVOW radio, after which he formed his first band, The Texas Longhorns. Jennings left high school at age 16, determined to become a musician and worked as a performer and DJ on KVOW, KDAV, KYTI, KLLL, in Coolidge, Arizona, and Phoenix. In 1958, Buddy Holly arranged Jennings's first recording session, and hired him to play bass. Jennings gave up his seat on the ill-fated flight in 1959 that crashed and killed Holly, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens.
Jennings then formed a rockabilly club band, The Waylors, which became the house band at "JD's", a club in Scottsdale, Arizona. He recorded for independent label Trend Records and A&M Records, but did not achieve success until moving to RCA Victor, taking on Neil Reshen as a manager, who negotiated significantly better touring and recording contracts for him. After he gained creative control from RCA Records, he released the critically acclaimed albums Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, followed by the hit albums Dreaming My Dreams and Are You Ready for the Country. During the 1970s, Jennings became one of the main figures of outlaw country. With Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter he recorded country music's first platinum album, Wanted! The Outlaws. It was followed by Ol' Waylon and the hit song "Luckenbach, Texas".
Jennings was featured in the 1978 album White Mansions, performed by various artists documenting the lives of people in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Jennings also appeared in films and television series, including Sesame Street, and a stint as the balladeer for The Dukes of Hazzard, composing and singing the show's theme song and providing narration for the show. By the early 1980s, Jennings struggled with a cocaine addiction, which he overcame in 1984. Later, he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash, which released three albums between 1985 and 1995. During that period, Jennings released the successful album Will the Wolf Survive.
He toured less after 1997 to spend more time with his family. Between 1999 and 2001, his appearances were limited by health problems. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was posthumously awarded the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music.
