Pensacola
Joan Osborne Lyrics


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Well I found him in Pensacola
In a trailer in the sand
The man from the picture
Creased and yellowed in my hand
Creased and yellowed in my hand
He was squinting and stubbled

And standing in the door
He said if you've come to take the car away
I don't have it anymore
I don't have it anymore
He got the gospel on the radio
And the gospel on TV
He got all of the transcripts
Back to 1963
Back to 1963

He said I sold my blood for money
There wasn't any pain

But I just can't stand the feeling
It's in someone else's veins
It's in someone else's veins
Momma took me aside

And she tried to change my mind
She said, don't waste your time in looking
There's nothing, nothing left to find
Nothing, nothing left to find
So I left him down in Pensacola

In a trailer in the sand
The man from the picture




Creased and yellowed in my hand
Creased and yellowed in my hand

Overall Meaning

Joan Osborne's "Pensacola" is a melancholic song about a woman's visit to an old man's trailer in Pensacola, Florida. The woman is carrying a photograph of the man, which is creased and yellowed. When she finally finds him, he is standing in the door, squinting and stubbled. He asks if she's come to take the car away, but she tells him she hasn't. He then goes on to talk about how he had sold his blood for money, but he can't stand the feeling of knowing that it's in someone else's veins.


The song is full of poignant imagery that captures the essence of the feeling of being lost and alone. The man in the trailer is a symbol of this feeling, and it is clear that he has given up hope of ever finding anything worth living for. The woman who visits him is searching for something too, but as her mother has warned her, there is nothing left to find.


Overall, "Pensacola" is a song about the futility of searching for meaning where there is none. The man has given up on life, and the woman's journey to find him is fruitless. The song captures the sadness and desperation of living a life without purpose, and the longing to find something, anything, to make it all worthwhile.


Line by Line Meaning

Well I found him in Pensacola
I discovered him in Pensacola


In a trailer in the sand
He was living in a trailer on the beach


The man from the picture
The man I saw in a photo


Creased and yellowed in my hand
The photo was old and worn as I held it


He was squinting and stubbled
His face was wrinkled and he had facial hair


And standing in the door
He was standing in the doorway of his trailer


He said if you've come to take the car away
He asked if I came to take his car


I don't have it anymore
He told me he no longer had the car


He got the gospel on the radio
He listened to gospel music on the radio


And the gospel on TV
He also watched gospel programs on TV


He got all of the transcripts
He collected transcripts of something


Back to 1963
The transcripts he collected dated back to 1963


He said I sold my blood for money
He admitted to selling his blood for money


There wasn't any pain
He claimed that the process of selling his blood didn't hurt


But I just can't stand the feeling
However, he didn't like the feeling that someone else had his blood


It's in someone else's veins
He was uncomfortable with the fact that his blood was inside someone else's body


Momma took me aside
His mother spoke to him privately


And she tried to change my mind
She attempted to convince him to think differently


She said, don't waste your time in looking
She told him not to bother searching for something


There's nothing, nothing left to find
She believed that there was nothing left for him to discover


So I left him down in Pensacola
I departed from him in Pensacola


In a trailer in the sand
He remained in his trailer on the beach


The man from the picture
The man in the old photo


Creased and yellowed in my hand
The photo was still old and worn as I left




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ERIC M BAZILIAN, ROB HYMAN, JOAN OSBORNE, RICK CHERTOFF

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Austin Barry

She wrote it with a few other writers. It is beautiful. One of my favorite songs on the album.

ari1234a

I love this song. Lemme say that again, I LOVE this song "somenones elses veins" "Back to 19 63" Thank You. Thank You.

bundasichi

A tragic tale of a daughter finding the dad she never knew. Seeing that he was barely making it on what he could sell (house, car, blood), and in the grip of trying to find hope for his soul before he dies - quite possibly a former evangelist or pastor that exchanged his life of marriage and child for the "higher calling" of religion. And soon it will be time to be accountable.

Alan Wilkinson

Who wrote this remarkable song? Can anyone tell me?

Joao Conceiçao

Joan Osborne

Zoe Sun

Thank U

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