Saturday Slow Down: Mary Chapin Carpenter ‘John Doe No.24’

I’m listening, again, to one of my very favorite songs of all time. The simplicity of the guitar-driven track and the slow, deliberate tempo create the perfect soundscape with which to tell the poignant story of “John Doe No. 24.” Mary Chapin Carpenter wrote this based on an actual newspaper clipping she came across making it all the more compelling:

John “Doe” Boyd, whose headstone was bought by Mary Chapin Carpenter — who had written a song about the mysterious teenager — was found by police in October 1945 standing on a Jacksonville sidewalk and was committed to the Lincoln State School and Colony.

Boyd was a tall black man who was deaf, mute and was later believed to be blinded by diabetes. He made his way through the Illinois mental health care system and was described by staff as being pleasant.

He loved to wear his favorite straw hat and carried around a backpack with a collection of knick-knacks wherever he went. He loved to dance at Christmas parties.

Though nobody discovered anything about the man’s history, clues did arise. Caretakers said he would pantomime accounts of jazz bars and circus parades and would scrawl the name “Lewis.”

There’s a dignity and calm acceptance of life in the way Mary Chapin captures “John.” I hope you like the song. https://youtu.be/PLby9x4P-O8