Carpenter, Mary Chapin - Halley Came To Jackson Lyrics






Late one night when the wind was still
Daddy brought the baby to the window sill
To see a bit of heaven shoot across the sky
The one and only time Daddy saw it fly

It came from the east just as bright as a torch
The neighbors had a party on their porch
Daddy rocked the baby, Mother said "amen"
When Halley came to visit in nineteen ten

Now back then Jackson was a real small town
And it's not every night a comet comes around
It was almost eighty years since its last time through
So I bet your mother would've said "amen" too

As its tail stretched out like a stardust streak
The papers wrote about it every day for a week
They wondered where it's going and where it's been
When Halley came to Jackson in 1910

Now Daddy told the baby sleeping in his arms
To dream a little dream of a comet's charms
And he made a little wish as she slept so sound
In nineteen eighty-six that wish came 'round

It came from the east, just as bright as a torch
She saw it in the sky from her daddy's porch
As heavenly sent as it was back then
When Halley came to Jackson in nineteen ten
Late one night when the wind was still





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Carpenter, Mary Chapin Halley Came To Jackson Comments
  1. H.... D....

    Yesterday I became a member of Mary's fan club 🎻🎼🎄🇮🇪😊

  2. e.... ....

    beautiful song ,,and beautiful artwork ,,thanks for sharing .

  3. C.... H....

    Such a pretty song. I believe in 1986 Sydney was cloudy.

  4. C.... R....

    I Shazamed this song from a buyer's feedback rating on Amazon.

  5. L.... P....

    I cry every time I hear this song--seeing this just added to the nostalgic effect. What a great song! Somehow it manages to tie family, history, love, time and the wonders of nature all together at once! Thank you, MCC, for the lovely gift!

  6. L.... P....

    HALLEY'S COMET, LAST VISIBLE IN 1986, WILL BE SEEN AGAIN DURING THE ORIONID METEOR SHOWER THIS WEEK!

  7. L.... R....

    Any conspiracy theorist's here!

    Great song too!

  8. B.... ....

    I love this song a lot. 💖

  9. B.... G....

    The mark of a well written song is that the listener as if by magic is drawn into the story only to exit not fully awakened from their dream, this loving graphic presentation fills the cup overflowing.

  10. C.... K....

    I love this song and used it to teach an integrated social studies, math, science, and research skills lesson in fourth grade. Students had to find as many locations named Jackson, locate all the current Jacksons in the U.S. on a map, find out which ones would allow a viewing of Halley, when was the previous time before 1910 when it came, when is the next time after 1986 that it will come again, and exactly how many years between each viewing (which was rounded up to almost 80 years).

  11. E.... F....

    I had this book as a kid, it came with a cassette tape of this song, it's so beautiful. My daddy used to sing it with me as a kid

    E.... F....

    I still have my book and the tape still plays.

  12. M.... P....

    Thank you Bob Marshall. I love the song & the pictures in the book so much I wish I had a grandchild to read it to. In spite of no immediate family that could fulfill that role today, I ordered 3 used copies from second-hand online booksellers. Maybe I'll just leave them in my neighborhood's Little Free Library.

  13. M.... A....

    Beautiful. Love MCC..just shared this with my son and his wife who just had my first granddaughter Dec 15, 2017.

  14. R.... S....

    Beautiful song, perfectly illustrated.

  15. t.... R....

    This is very special to me. My Dad was born in 1910 and my second son was born in 1986. Both specially "Comet Touched".

  16. R.... J....

    I sang this to my daughter.

  17. D.... S....

    Just perfect!

  18. B.... B....

    i was there in 1986 in Ontario Oregon

    B.... B....

    And you didn't write a song?

    B.... B....

    2 30 am sitting on a dark country road observing Halleys Comet and the Oregon Highway Patrol stopped and ask if we were having trouble. no just observing this day in history. Great song

    B.... B....

    2 30 am sitting on a lonely road in Oregon, a Highway patrolman stops, you folks need help, no we are watching history

  19. A.... O....

    Lindo, lindo, lindo!!!

  20. c.... ....

    Such a wonderful song.

  21. K.... G....

    Can't stop listening to it

  22. C.... T....

    Absolutely one of my FAVORITE songs!!! Thank you for posting!

  23. C.... ....

    makes me cry ... love this song

  24. L.... R....

    Thank you so much for this. I bought this book with a cassette tape with it several years ago and used it with my elementary music classes for several years. Since I taught in Jackson Public Schools, it held a special significance for me and my students. I even had the privilege of meeting Miss Eudora (for whom the the book and song were written) several times before her death. She was quite a character and looked much more like a bag lady than a Pulitzer Prize winning author. Again, thanks for the post.

    L.... R....

    You're welcome. I've made nearly 900 YouTube "videos" now, and this one was quite unique and is one of my favorites. Obviously I had very little to do with it other than piecing everything together and digging up some obscure pictures of the comet. Wish it had more views. And I don't understand the three dislikes; probably cases of mouse mismanagement.

    L.... R....

    I've shared the link with quite a few friends tonight. You should have quite a few more hits shortly. This book/song was referenced in the music series that we used in my classes; however, the book was out of print by then. I was lucky to have gotten a copy w/cassette before it was discontinued. They should really reprint it and put it on CD or do the whole thing on DVD.

    L.... R....

    Larry Rigby this is amazing, my favorite

    L.... R....

    I didn't have the book, but used the song to teach an integrated math, science, social studies, research lesson in fourth grade for many years.

  25. D.... J....

    For some reason this song plus the the stills shown in the video made my eyes tear up.

    D.... J....

    Me too. Can't understand why.

    D.... J....

    Here too!

    D.... J....

    Glad I’m not the only one. 😢

  26. H.... D....

    My name is Halley, This is cool.

    H.... D....

    You can't fool me, your name is Mary.

  27. R.... ....

    Heard her perform this on Prairie Home Companion. Still my favourite version.

  28. M.... A....

    here comes the nostalgia. when I was little, my mom and I always listened to this song when we would go on our "pajama rides" where we rode in the car around town during the winter in our pajamas and would look at Christmas lights.

  29. A.... P....

    One of her best.
    Hard to pick her best songs when you have so many to choose from.

  30. S.... G....

    Qué magnífica canción, qué bello tema y sobre todo que magnífica voz la de portentosa cantautora.

  31. M.... C....

    We got my cat's name from this song. She died not to long ago, so this song is sad and cool.

  32. A.... C....

    One of my prefered songs.

  33. T.... L....

    Magic..pure, unadulterated magic....

    T.... L....

    This is a very god song you are the best

  34. b.... ....

    Love this!  I was lucky find the related book second hand when my kids were born.  They loved the song and book too.

  35. D.... M....

    Wonderful wonderful !!

    D.... M....

    Thank you, thank you!

    D.... M....

    @Bob Marshall ;-)

  36. B.... C....

    Find and listen to "An Account Of Haleys Comet"  John Stewart 1972  Every bit as good as this is. Moving.  Hard to find it.  Not on youtube.  On amazon.  

    B.... C....

    The same John Stewart who sang a song called "July You're A Woman" and wrote the song "Daydream Believer"? I saw him once along with Mickey Newbury; pretty awesome night.

    I found "An Account Of Halley's Comet" on iTunes. Interesting song. It's mostly a narrated story. Not sure who it is that's telling the story; could be a father, could be a friend. It couldn't be John Stewart himself, because for one thing the man sounded pretty old, and for another thing John Stewart was born in 1939 and the song was written in 1971, and Halley's comet had not appeared between 1939-1971.

    B.... C....

    @Bob Marshall  Its his father as I understand considering it was told in first person.  I heard it in 1972 and really liked it due to the way it was done and the timing of the music.  Hie voice is perfect for telling a Kentucky story.  Had'nt really able to find it since because for one, I always thought the name Kentucky Lightshine.  Recently I did search it out and hence added it to my collection.  Someone posted here that there arent a lot of tunes about the comet.   And they are pretty much right.  

    B.... C....

    You can find it on my vinyl !!

  37. J.... H....

    Always, one of my favourite Mary CC songs.  Love it - thank you

  38. B.... K....

    so, so good!

  39. C.... ....

    What a priceless song ! I heard it being played on a jukebox in a bar way back in 1997, and could not believe my ears. It has some of the finest sounding acoustic guitar in it that I have ever heard. Mary Chapin Carpenter is gifted.

  40. D.... S....

    One of the most beautiful songs, ever!

  41. T.... B....

    ilove this song!!

  42. R.... K....

    Beautiful song, singer and illustrations. Thank you.

  43. B.... M....

    @NolaMom, thanks for the kind words. I can only take part of the credit, Dan Andreesen is the artists who created those wonderful pictures. I added the rest, but Dan's pictures are superb.

  44. N.... ....

    My favorite song! Thanks for this great video...love the way you compiled it!

  45. L.... F....

    This is a great example of visualization. I am going to use this with my elementary students when we discuss making the text match what is being visualized. Thank you. I also purchased the book!

  46. B.... M....

    @Chris Rusche, do a Google search on "Halley Came To Jackson" Mississippi, and you will see. Yeah, it's definitely Mississippi.

  47. C.... R....

    Bob, how did you find out it was Jackson, MS?

  48. B.... M....

    Oh, OK, @raininthefact100, now I understand why you commented that the song was both sad and beautiful. It reminded you of your mother. My mother also passed away in 1986, suddenly. And my father just passed away suddenly about a month ago. Ironically I had just made a tribute video for him the day before he died, but he never got to see it.

  49. r.... i....

    That should read Halley's Comet . Comments on the brain , eh.

  50. r.... i....

    Every time I hear this song I think of my mother. She was born in 1911 and died in 1986 on the night that Halley's Comment left . She had a hard life and had a lot of faults but she was my mother.

    r.... i....

    rain intheface I'm so sorry

  51. B.... M....

    @rainintheface100, sad? Not really. Beautiful? Yes, certainly. And I'd add melancholy. And also delightful. I enjoyed making this video. One of my favorites that I have made.

  52. r.... i....

    What a sad and beautiful song.

  53. r.... i....

    I can not believe that someone gave a thumbs down on this song!!

  54. R.... N....

    Thanks for uploading this again, Bob! Good to have it back!

  55. J.... ....

    Loudon Wainwright acts occasionally, too. He's been in Ally McBeal, Person of Interest, Parks & Rec, Mash, etc. His sister Sloane is one of my favorite singers.

  56. B.... M....

    Yeah, I've heard some of his other stuff. Many years ago I used to listen to an eclectic radio station called KFAT in Gilroy, CA. They played a weird mix of country, folk, bluegrass, jazz, almost all of it non-mainstream. The radio station is long gone, but KFAT lives on at kfat-dot-com, where they play music from their archives. Check it out, it's nostalgic.

  57. S.... F....

    Yes, but while that was his only hit to reach the charts (and not a favorite of mine), he has dozens of beautiful, poignant and funny songs since. Check him out. Not much on YouTube though. He has performed on SNL and recently won a grammy for The Charlie Poole Project. Prolific songwriter.

  58. B.... M....

    Loudon Wainwright. Wasn't he the guy who sang the song "Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The Road"?

  59. S.... F....

    I was reminded about this song recently when I watched Loudon Wainwright perform a song he wrote about Mark Twain at the annual humor award show named in his honor, this one recognizing Ellen Degeneres. Loudon commented that Mark Twain was born in the year of Halley's Comet and died a day after it passed. Kind of like in this song. Love the song and the artwork....

  60. R.... S....

    Amen that lord gave us this life to live and to die in.

  61. D.... ....

    My parents made the effort to take me to the big telescope on top of the physics/astronomy building at KU when I was a little girl, 4 years old, to see Halley's Comet as it passed in 1986. The big telescope was broken, so we looked through the little ones. The ideas the adults talked about were so big, bigger than the fuzzy cottonball I could see through the 'scope. It ignited a life-long love of science and astronomy. God bless my parents for that gift. I hope to see again on it's next pass.

  62. P.... ....

    I've always loved this song and did know it was about Eudora Welty. We were just reading about comets so I showed this to my son. It made me sad to think that his father and I won't still be here when Halley comes around again, but he doesn't realize it, yet.

  63. S.... G....

    Ditto to fritzkep and moptop. I wore this out on a cassette.

  64. B.... M....

    Thanks for the kind words. Yep, it's a wonderful song, it's nice to hear something with a new twist to it. How many other songs can you think of about a comet? I was going to suggest that you get the book from Amazon, but it turns out it's selling for $63 - $132! I guess it's turned into a collector's item.

  65. m.... ....

    Ditto what fritzkep said. This has long been my favorite MCC song, and I am SO glad you mentioned the artist because I was wondering how I'd ever find out who did those, and YOU did a wonderful job putting it all together. Love, love, love this!

  66. M.... ....

    GORGEOUS illustrations! great song, too.

  67. f.... ....

    Really appreciate it! Thank you!

  68. B.... M....

    Well, Mary Chapin Carpenter wrote the song and sang it, her band played it, Dan Andreason supplied most of the beautiful artwork, and I supplied the other images and also tied it all together to create the video.

  69. f.... ....

    I find myself getting tight in the throat from sheer joy when hearing this song and looking at the beautiful illustrations. Thanks to all involved in making it.

  70. C.... ....

    Pure MCC: for me is her best-melodic song ever writen; this time much more folk than country; 8th cut from her record Shooting Straight in the Dark (1990); as more I listen as more I like, also ... nice presentation for the video with the photographs and lirics

  71. C.... ....

    My father-in-law died the same year Haley's came through. He never got to see it and he wanted to so badly. Papa, I know you can see it from heaven now. I know you finally got your wish. Miss you and love you, Papa!

  72. l.... ....

    Great song! I have the disc that this song is on and it's very good.

  73. j.... ....

    Beautiful song! Though I guess the "daddy" she's referring to is her mom or grandma's daddy. A brilliant artist named David Forman had a groovy song on his 1976 (?) Arista album, called WHEN THE COMET COMES.

    My dad was a big fan of MT. MT came in with Haley's Comet and went out with Haley's Comet. My dad did the same - was born the year MT died (1910) and went out with the next Haley's comet, in 1986.

  74. R.... J....

    talent! c:

  75. d.... ....

    My half sister was born in Jackson, Ms in 1910 and she lived to see Halley come again.

  76. f.... ....

    MISS YOU SO MUCH, DAD