JEROME

There are many different versions of this story. The one I give in this song is the most plausible. A man named Jerome was found on August 23, 1864 on the Fundy Coast near Sandy Cove, N.S. Both of his legs had been amputated. Another strange fact is that he never spoke, or almost never. Was he refusing to talk, or wasn’t he able to? We’ll never know. Jerome died in April 1912 at Saint Alphonse, Nova Scotia.

THEY CARRIED HIM OFF GENTLY ASHORE
AND LEFT HIM WITH ONLY THE CLOTHES THAT HE WORE
WITH A BOTTLE OF WATER AND BREAD AT HIS SIDE
THE STRANGE HELPLESS MAN WAS FOUND NEAR THE TIDE

CHORUS
JEROME JEROME WE STILL WONDER WHY
YOU NEVER SPOKE MORE THAN THREE WORDS
WE CAN ONLY SURMISE BUT WE’LL NEVER KNOW
WHY THEY CAST YOU OFF SO FAR FROM HOME

AS THE YEARS ROLLED PASSED FOLKS TRIED IN VAIN
TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERY TO HIS SILENT PAIN
IN PASSING WE WONDER WHERE WAS HE FROM
NO ANSWER IS GIVEN FOR THERE IS NONE

All rights reserved. Words reproduced with permission.

Source: Ernest F. Gaudet, "Jerome," Ernest à Roger. Chansons reflétant la culture de la Baie Sainte-Marie, N.-É. (Digby: Ernest F. Gaudet et "PUT IT ON CD", 2000).

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