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This is a song about my mother, Johnnie Mary Alice Selma Ginn King, born in the 30's along the Delta in Arkansas. When she was 16, she contracted polio, and her life was never the same.

New version upload 06/19/2020

lyrics

Her name was Johnnie
And she lived on the Delta's shore
Arkansas farmland as far as you could see
Born on the wrong side of the sheets,
'Least that's what they said
In the 30s on the Old Muddy

Blues in the cradle, music somehow deep down in her veins
Feelin' the downbeat was as natural as the rain
Radio playin' melodies on a gentle breeze
Sinking slowly through her soul and mind

Johnnie was a dancer from the moment she could walk and run
Moving to the music on the air and in her heart
Getting lost in the rhythms and the stories
Twirling 'neath the moon, by the steady flowing river of time

Growin' up for Johnnie was just like any other kid, but
Her daddy said that she wasn't his own
Brokenhearted this lost soul would dance to her inner songs
'Neath the moonlight in the gardens of hope

Sweet Sixteen for Johnnie weren't the same as for other girls
Springtime rains and flooding, brought sickness and pain
Years in hospital braces were the future for this broken soul
Dreams of dancing lost in the wind

Her name was Johnnie, and she lived on the Delta's Shore
Arkansas farmland as far as she could see
Daughter of the Southland sits and dreams of what could have been
On the banks of the Old Muddy.

credits

from Tales and Tunes 2020, released February 11, 2020
Music and Lyrics: Edna Marie Meren King
Guitar: Edna Marie Meren King

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Meren King Ocala, Florida

Meren King is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist out of Ocala, Florida. Her originals and covers share what is most dear to her heart - her family, her faith and her passions. From folk to blues to rock and roll, the songs she sings and the stories she tells will take you on a journey of the mind and heart. ... more

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