John Doe No. 24 Lyrics - Carpenter Mary-chapin

I was standing on the sidewalk in 1945 

In Jacksonville, Illinois 

When asked what my name was there came no reply 

They said I was a deaf and sightless half-wit boy 

But Louis was my name, though I could not say it 

I was born and raised in New Orleans 

My spirit was wild, so I let the river take it 

On a barge and a prayer upstream 

Well they searched for a mother and they searched for a father 

And they searched till they searched no more 

The doctors put to rest their scientific tests 

And they named me "John Doe No. 24" 

And they all shook their heads in pity 

For a world so silent and dark 

Well there's no doubt that life's a mystery 

But so too is the human heart 

And it was my heart's own perfume when the crepe jasmine bloomed 

On Rue Morgue Avenue 

Though I couldn't hear the bells of the streetcars coming 

By toeing the track I knew 

And if I were an old man returning 

With my satchel and porkpie hat 

I'd hit every jazz joint on Bourbon 

And I'd hit everyone on Basin after that 

The years kept passing as they passed me around 

From one state ward to another 

Like I was an orphan shoe from the lost and found 

Always missing the other 

And they gave me a harp last Christmas 

And all the nurses took a dance 

But lately I've been growing listless 

I've been dreaming again of the past 

I'm wandering down to the banks of the great Big Muddy 

Where the shotgun houses stand 

I am seven years old and I feel my dad 

Reach out for my hand 

While I drew breath no one missed me 

So they won't on the day that I cease 

Put a sprig of crepe jasmine with me 

To remind me of New Orleans 

I was standing on the sidewalk in 1945 

In Jacksonville, Illinois