Medicine Jack

by The Waterboys

From the album: This Is the Sea

Track 13 of 23 on This Is the Sea (1985).

Duration: 4:12

This Is the Sea cover art

Lyrics for Medicine Jack

Let me tell you the tale of Medicine Jack He went out in the woods and he never came back Equipped with a stick and a big old sack He went too close to the railroad track You know what they say about Medicine Jack He lived his life in a rolldown shack, The wind a-screeching through the cracks And the sound of the trains from the railroad track Well here's the truth about Medicine Jack He painted his face and his whole shack black He went up in the woods and he never came back He must have got too close to the railroad track Did you see him on that fateful night? Did you see his grizzly face in the torchlight? Did you see him crawling down among the trees And getting scabs on his hands and knees? Did you see the demise of Medicine Jack His pitiful face still painted black Just a spit and a stride from the rolldown shack Down on by the railroad track? Don't turn your back on Medicine Jack! I was thinking about the ghost of Medicine Jack On starless nights when the sky is black I can hear him singing those deadman's blues And whistling down by the railroad track

Listen On

More from This Is the Sea

  1. Don't Bang the Drum
  2. The Whole of the Moon
  3. Spirit
  4. The Pan Within
  5. Medicine Bow
  6. Old England
  7. Be My Enemy
  8. Trumpets
  9. This Is the Sea
  10. Beverly Penn
  11. Sleek White Schooner
  12. Medicine Bow - Extended Version
  13. Medicine Jack
  14. High Far Soon
  15. Even the Trees Are Dancing
  16. Towers Open Fire
  17. This Is the Sea - Live
  18. Then You Hold Me
  19. Spirit - Extended Version
  20. Miracle
  21. I Am Not Here
  22. Sweet Thing
  23. The Waves