(Joppatowne intro) Songtext
von Guy Davis

Once upon a time there was a young man named Doug Ramsey
Doug lived in a place called Joppatown
In his early life he made some bad choises
And he had to go to prison
It was while he was in prison that he heard that his mother died
And the warden decided that he could have on days furlough to go to her funeral
And on that day he left the prison with chains on his wrists, chains on his ankles
A company about two marshals they drove him to a little church by the sea in Joppatowne
When they got there they dicovered that the doors where locked
The funeral was over they had missed it
So they drove from there to the cemetery and when they got there Doug looked out,
The sky was grey it just began to rain and he recognized the faces and figures of people who he knew and loved and he looked down on the chains on his wrist and suddenly he felt very ashamed he didnt want those people to see him like that so he asked the marshals if they would unlock the chains from his wrists and unlock the chains from his ankles he promised he wouldn′t run nowhere in the bay for them who gonna put his mother in the ground but the marshals had their orders so the chains stayed where they were.
Doug got out of the car he made his way over to his mothers graveside and the old blind man Joko Miller picked up his guitar and began to play:

I'm a stranger in this land sometimes I need a helpin′hand

Helpin'hand, Lord, helpin'hand


Sometimes I need a helpin′hand

Untired of wanderin′ all around I wanna go back to Jappatowne

Jappatowne Lord Jappatowne

I wanna go back to Jappatowne

There's a kingdom by the sea

There′s an angel who waits for me

Waits for me, Lord, she waits for me

I got an angel she waits for me

If I die on this road don't you leave me where I fall

Where I fall Lord, where I fall

Please don′t leave me where I fall

Lift my body from this ground carry me over to Jappatowne

Jappatowne Lord Jappatowne

I wanna go back to Jappatowne

In the graveyard by the willow tree next to my mother space for me

Space for me, Lord, make space for me


Next to my mother make space for me