Neal Casal - "Cora Jones" - A Christmas Ballad

Описание: In the early 1990’s, Neal spent a lot of time on outdoor adventures with his close friends Eric and Libby McDonald at their house in rural Wisconsin. It was a beautiful, idyllic time that stunningly and sadly was broken by the kidnapping and murder of a 12-year old local girl, Cora Jones. The community was devastated by this awful event and Neal was particularly affected to think such horror could randomly come to this special place.

He was moved to write Cora Jones as a tribute to her.

CREDITS
Produced, recorded and mixed by Jim Scott
Drums: Don Heffington
Piano: John Ginty
Bass and pedal steel: Greg Leisz
Vocal, guitar and lyrics: Neal Casal
Additional vocal: Juliana Gondek

CORA JONES

The lights are down low
The snow it is falling
The streets are all empty
We’re headed back home

Everyone’s telling their old Christmas stories
But I can’t help thinking about Cora Jones

Cora she was as sweet as an angel
She lived for 12 years on a Wisconsin farm
She liked to ride horses and dream by the river
But she loved Christmas the best of them all

Her father spent time chopping logs in the north woods
Her mother worked hard taking care of the kids
They all stuck together come hell or high water
These days that’s all that a family can do

One day in September Cora went out bike riding
She waved to her mama She waved to her brother
She stopped at the curb just to tell them she loved them
But nobody knew she would never come back home

Now how can a man take the life of another
They found Cora down by the side of the road
The newspaper said that they can’t find the killer
Where he ran off to nobody knows

The presents are wrapped in their tiny white ribbons
The big tree is glowing the dogs are asleep
But this Christmas just won’t be the same without Cora
And why she ain’t with us I just can’t see

In her short life Cora Jones made us happy
She’d light up the whole world with just one smile
So this Christmas I’m thinking about Cora and her family
I hope that some day they’ll find peace by and by