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Doctor upstairs
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Copyright Ac 2009 Jim Ferrie Music
The young man climbed down from the train with suitcase and a mission he'd made his own
With potions and pills and a few dollar bills he walked out to the limits of the tumbledown town
And fortune jobs called him from far-away socialite cities but didn't suit his plan
To ply his trade for folks in need from one who ain't a cash-grabbin' man
He found rooms to rent that looked out far and high across the unfinished street
Where girls made trade and beggars laid and orphans played with no shoes on their feet
A woodworker fixed him a sign for the doorway where the homeless would bed
With a skyward arrow and a two chiseled ink-filled words that read...
(Chorus)
'Doctor, upstairs'
Doorbell on the second door
Second right, second floor
'Doctor, upstairs'
Day or night, month or year
Rain or shine, you'll find him here
Then came the folks who had only the clothes that they stood in, night and day
Teenage mums and streetcar bums and he never turned a single soul away
And late at night he'd brave the dangerous alleys to answer a desperate call
A whittled cross and a street Picasso and grade-school art hung on his surgery wall
And as years passed like days he was birthin' the kids of the kids that had been before
They paid with thanks and takin' out trash and he never asked for nothin' more
Some folks would offer what cash they' had on them but he'd refuse their dime
A welcome warm and reassuring anytime you made the doorbell chime (at the)...
(Chorus)
'Doctor, upstairs'
Doorbell on the second door
Second right, second floor
'Doctor, upstairs'
Day or night, month or year
Rain or shine, you'll find him here
Late one night a gang of crackheads climbed the stairs and broke down his door
A crash, a flash with a sound like a whipcrack, they took what they wanted, left him lyin' on the floor
(inst)
They still speak about him, like he never left and no replacement has ever been found
And some folks seek his counsel and his thoughts, like he's still around
And if you venture down to the outskirts of town to the dead of the community
You'll find a sign and an upward arrow sits where a headstone should be (that says....)
'Doctor, upstairs'
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Lyrics Credits: Jim Ferrie
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Music Credits: Jim Ferrie
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Producer Credits: Jim Ferrie
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Publisher Credits: Jim Ferrie
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Performance Credits: Jim Ferrie
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Label Credits:
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Short Song Description:
93bpm alt country beat to a story song about a someone giving up their life to help the poor and the impression they leave. All good guys go to heaven etc...
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Long Song Description:
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Story Behind the Song:
I once heard a sermon delivered by a priest when I was a kid and still a catholic. He was a good story teller and all of a sudden, 40 years later, I recalled the story and liked the literal and figurative 'upstairs' related to in the story.
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Song Length: 5:45
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Primary Genre: Folk-Contemporary
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Secondary Genre: Country-Contemporary
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Tempo: Medium Slow (91 - 110)
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Lead Vocal: Male Vocal
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Subject Matter 1: Doctor
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Subject Matter 2: Poverty
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Mood 1: Moving
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Similar Artist 1: Bruce Springsteen
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Similar Artist 2: Todd Rundgren
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Language: English
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Era: 2000 and later
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