lord his daddy was an honest man just a red dirt georgia farmer his momma lived her short life having kids and baling hay he had fifteen years and he ached inside to wander he jumped a freight in waycross and wound up in l a cold nights had no pity on that waycross georgia farm boy most days he went hungry then the summer came he met a girl known on the strip as san francisco s mabel joy destitution s child born of an l a street called shame growing up came quietly in the arms of mabel joy laughter found their mornings it brought a meaning to his life lord on the night before she left sleep came and left that waycross country boy with dreams of georgia cotton and a california wife sunday morning found him standin neath the red light at her door a right cross sent him reeling put him face down on the floor in place of his mabel joy he found a merchant mad marine who growled your georgia neck is red but sonny you re still green he turned twenty one in a gray rock federal prison the old judge had no mercy for that waycross georgia boy staring at those four gray walls in silence lord he just listened to that midnight freight he knew could take him back to mabel joy sunday morning found him lying neath the red light at her door with a bullet in his side he cried have you seen mabel joy stunned and shaken someone said son she don t live here no more no she left this house four years today they say she s looking for some georgia farm boy 