What exactly happened in Mickey Newbury's "San Francisco Mabel Joy?"
Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Folknik, Mar 28, 2018.

Folknik
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Location:Walhalla, SC, United States

"San Francisco Mabel Joy" is one of Mickey Newbury's most brilliantly crafted songs. It tells a story, but one of the most remarkable things about it is that it leaves certain things out of the narrative and makes us read between the lines. However, I find parts of it rather unclear.
1. After hopping a freight train in Waycross, GA and winding up in L.A., a 16-year-old farm boy finds comfort in the arms of Mabel Joy who is obviously a prostitute (as evidenced by the references to "the red light at her door").
"On the night before she left, sleep came and left that Waycross country boy with dreams of Georgia cotton and a California wife." Why did she leave and where did she go?
2.... (Continues)