John Doe No. 24 (Live - One Night Lonely) Mary Chapin Carpenter

[Verse 1]
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 mother
And they searched for father
And they searched till they searched no more
And 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 St. Charles 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