“Josaphine… Ahh, one of my favorite Dispatch songs. I don’t know what it is about this tune. I remember listening to it with my face pressed against the glass of an Amtrak train heading up to Rhinebeck, New York. ‘Like seeing the moon in the middle of the day.’ Love that line. When Chad first played this song to me, I thought to myself I’m going to really have to practice the bass part. It was so worth it to finally get the chords down. I love playing Josaphine… every time!”
– Pete Francis
When he was born
The doc said, “What's this?
He's much too small
It's like he's weightless”
When he turned 6 They ran some tests They said it's for science It's patriotic
Oh let's send him where no one else has gone After all he cannot speak or walk Let's send him at the moon He'll do circles around the sun
When he was 12 The time had come then And with his eyes He said he loved them
In came the suits In came the government She stood and cried She could not keep him
Oh let's send him where no one else has gone After all he cannot speak or walk Let's send him at the moon Do circles around the sun
Well he came back, yeah he came back He came back with a smile as big as the whole world The doctors were shocked by his vital signs She said, “Would you like to come home now?”
Oh let's send him where no one else has gone After all he cannot speak or walk Let's send him at the moon Do circles around the sun
It's as if they fore fathers and they traded for peace They can lick the wound slow like they from the Northeast They resisting going easy, banking on the hearsay But they all know the man with the co-pay Hitched up in the mid they get the high to low rap, it's a tight rope 'til the rope go slack It'll blow your mind but it don't get you around I ain't messin’ around I ain't messin’ around
So I got my gold parachute tell my Ma I left town With my chloroform I'm in the Monet, phone it in Take a long ride down a narrow drive and you can bed down here Then come and jump me now May I Esther will you reach for the money So I don't sell the van, can't find rye, can't find mine, C.A.T.S. got nine times So let the Boochie on the record and you got him on the Messin’ around He only messin’ around
So can we do a re-vote backed by a hard earned job Those hard-to-get-to things abound As if I don't think think thinkin’ I been sippin’ on the worm We was lookin' from the town lookout And say preach buy them treats and does God he pray Father told ‘em pick 'em off the fallen tree But Father pick 'em off the Tyvek So we get caught up on the mountain, still no paycheck To be found I ain't messin’ around Are you sorted Are you sound, are you sound, are you sound Are you sorted
Kind fall we’ve had enough Don’t really wanna hold much longer Silver sun I feel your love Very soon we will ride
So get ready boy because here I go I’ve been waiting my whole life just to let it roll And I bank to the right and away I fly
Back to the ground we came from hey back to the ground we fall
Caught the rain with your all alone The milkweed and the green below us It’s early yet but wind is strong And there’s a world on it’s way
So get ready boy because here I go I’ve been waiting my whole life just to let it roll And I bank to the right and away I fly
Hey back to the ground we came from hey back to the ground we fall Aim back to the ground we came from and back to the ground we fall
So get ready boy because here I go I been waiting my whole life just to let it go And I bank to the right and away I fly
Back to the ground we came from hey back to the ground we fall
Back to the ground we came from aim back to the ground we fall
Check me out before you go Man you've got to really know We've got this one to show It's a sign of the times that you're here
All the love that you fear Come right down and take you away
Soldier locket broken till There’s a letter on the sill Guess you have more boots to fill A sign of the times that you’re here
All the love that you fear Come right down and take you Love that you fear Come right down and take you away
Come down from where you are Where you are Come down from where you are Where you are
Imagine that we’re free to stay No one ever gave you away Thanks for being here today A sign of the times that you’re here
All the love that you fear
Come right down and take you
Love that you fear
Come right down and take you away
Think I'll up and move to Canada Think I'll begin my story there And if the prime minister says he's had enough I'll go back to St. Johnsbury to breathe the air
That's where I met a girl called Josaphine They call her Josaphine The Fair She had Manchvegas written across her back She just cut off all her hair
We shared a blanket by the tracks in Lebanon, New Hampshire I could not sleep for better dreams Oh but I never felt so awake and alive 'Til I noticed my jacket was gone and so was Josaphine
Josaphine, Josaphine, Josaphine How come you ain't nowhere to be seen? Josaphine, Josaphine, Josaphine How come, how come Josaphine
But soon after she must've had a change of heart 'Cause as the train caught up speed Like seein' the moon in the middle of the day I felt like my feet were just gonna float away When I heard her yellin’ Chicoree
And she was taking off her jacket as she ran I said forget the jacket just give me your hand I'm gettin' off at the first stop up there in Canada I can make you happy there
She said it could be awhile I said I'll wait She said it could be a while I said I'll wait Keep the jacket Just bring it to me someday
Josaphine, Josaphine, Josaphine How come you ain't nowhere to be seen? Josaphine, Josaphine, Josaphine How come, how come Josaphine
Did you get caught in a cloud with the rain so loud That you couldn't hear your up and down heart speak out? Did you go back to New Hampshire to stay? Did they catch you at the border and send you back down? Should I give up and stop looking around? Cause I'm still waiting to this day Josaphine
Josaphine, Josaphine, Josaphine
How come you ain't nowhere to be seen?
Josaphine, Josaphine, Josaphine
How come, how come, how come, how come
Josaphine The Fair, Josaphine The Fair, Josaphine The Fair, Josaphine The Fair
Josaphine The Fair, Josaphine The Fair, Josaphine The Fair, Josaphine The Fair
You warn me and keep me here You call us close to dispel your fear You painted the color of peace with your hands
As the water flows north by west they come moving Raising up their hands, as the thunder calls We'll come to the straightest tree
What flag are you flying? (I have seen your kind for miles)
Great Father in the East says we'll need Only wide like our wagon wheels Only as long as the day holds a blessing will we pass And not be back... He offers to us our own hands Painted lines upon our land Dog Soldiers don't ignite the land
What flag are you flying? (I have seen your kind for miles) White flag are you flying? (I have seen your kind for miles)
Oh we huddle to the tree And hold it with both hands At the center we will be together as one we will stand Frozen tears, frozen tears may raven truth of frozen tears remain
What flag are you flying? (I have seen your kind for miles) White flag are you flying? (I have seen your kind for miles)
I still stand
I hold them up
I still stand
I hold you up
I still stand
To hold you up
Cast a spell on me Don't shake my constellation I've been riding out, holding time Man, I got so lost At such a cost I let you down
See the love shining down on you Tell me things only we can do
Come to me Come to me Before you need it Come to me Come to me Before you need it Before you need it
Underneath it all I cashed in my chips to win I thought I looked so steady Baby, I was ready What a fight, I lost it
See the love shining down on you Tell me things only we can do
Come to me Come to me Before you need it Come to me Come to me Before you need it Before you need it
I'm always up in the clouds
I don't want to come down
I’m always up in the clouds
I don’t want to come down
I don’t want to come down
(Repeat)
I really should be going now Because if I stay There's only so much left of the day And if you ever want to reach back Would you be so kind To let the sunlight play with your mind
And if you ever want to walk out Would you be set free? Because there are so many places to see
And I could be the wild child And you could be the sky And we can go about gathering time
Yes and I'll stay awake if you keep on laughing And it's all we can do for the world in passing And it's all that we have and all that we need to find
I really should be going now Before it gets too late All the chances that I didn't take
I stand before the mirror And I count to three And then I become nothing like me
But I'll stay awake if you keep on laughing It's all we can do for the world in passing And it's all that we have and all that we need to find
Yes I'll stay awake if you keep on dreaming And it's all we can do for the world we believe in And it's all that we have and all that we need to find
'Til never or now, never or now I'll take your place if you would like my place to stay
Never or now, never or now I'll take your place if you would like my place to stay Never or now, never or now I’ll take your place if you would like my place to stay
I really should be gone now because if I stay There's only so much left of the day And if you ever want to reach back would you be so kind To let the sunlight play with your mind
Invite them to fly as you cut their wings Tell them to run as you tie their feet Where they'll go...
Ask them to sing what they can't yet speak Show them how to sow where they'll never reap Where they'll go...
We hold a gun
Here comes the tune once again Another great chief with another strong hand Fences and walls How can you sit where you cannot stand? And we'll be needing more from the less in your hands Fences and walls
We hold a gun We hold it up
Fill up their rooms where there are no seats Expect them to reach them and teach them to dream Ask them to see as you shut out the lights Expect a world of color where it's all black and white And is it protection when it never bends And all the growing and reaching suspends? Ask them to come and to dance and to sing In hallways and rooms where the silence stings And are we raising them up just to hold out their hands And enter into a world that they won't understand
We hold a gun
I've waited so long for the sun to rise This afternoon I see it in your eyes The sky is opening The world is shining On your day
It feels so good now Feels so good now Feels so good now Feels so good now
Can you believe it? He's in our lives You make my heart fill with light The sky is opening The world is shining On your day
It feels so good now Feels so good now Feels so good now Feels so good now
The sky is opening The world is shining On your day On your day
Feels so good now Feels so good now It feels so good now It feels so good now