Jamaica Farewell

Dear Laura,
Falmouth High School class of 86? East Falmouth Elementary School? Then yes, I would be that Joanne. I do remember a Laura F., if "F" is a maiden, and not married, last name. You must really know me too, since the bulk of my classmates insist on referring to me as "Joanna."
Funny you should mention Jamaica Farewell. I've no doubt I sang it as a kid though I don't actually remember it. My mother used to sing it on the way home during long car rides; that and the chorus of Yellow Submarine.
It kind of freaked me out because I was always thinking my parents were planning to leave me in Kingston Town. I was a "little girl" after all, and, we had to drive through Kingston on the way home from my grandmother's house in Dorchester. It wouldn't have taken much for them to slow down enough to dump me out on the side of the road.
I can see why Dan Zanes changed the lyrics in his version.
I'm flattered you read this blog as far back as my early entries when I was driving around last summer trying to get the kids to nap. My oldest stopped napping altogether when he turned three and car rides don't work on my 15-month-old. It's all for the best really, gas is too expensive now anyway. Besides, I always felt like the residents of Pine Bay were getting suspicious of my car constantly circling the neighborhood. Like I might be casing it out or something.

song: Jamaica Farewell • artist: Harry Belafonte