Oregon: I Can't Go Home
If you were a teenager or older in the early 70’s, especially if you lived in Oregon, you will remember the story of Jo Ann McDaniel of Salem, Oregon.
Jo Ann was 27 years old in 1973 and traveling in Turkey when she and two friends, also from the United States, were arrested in Turkey for smuggling hashish.
Jo Ann and her friends were sentenced to death. However, after a huge backlash in the United States (especially in Oregon) and because of the questionable culpability of Jo Ann, Turkish authorities relented and reduced her sentence to life in prison.
Inspired by the front page stories of Jo Ann McDaniel’s horrific plight, a struggling band from around the Salem area, Blackhawk County, led by lead singer Bill Coleman, wrote a song entitled “Oregon; I can’t go Home”.
Imagine a young, frightened woman unjustly jailed in a Turkish prison under a numbing life sentence. Now imagine her closing her eyes and singing this song as her thoughts drift back to her home in Oregon:
They say the Oregon rain will get you down,
But I hunger for the freshness of its sound
The wind, the sun, the things that I have known before,
Now seem like faded ghosts, like shadows on the floor
I live in Oregon, Oregon's my home ...
I love the trees, the hills, the places I have roamed ...
I long to be there, I long to be there with my own kind!
Let me roam endless hours on my own ...
Take me home, back to where green trees grow ...
I feel so lonely and forgotten in this place ...
I'm losing hope, my mind is troubled by disgrace ...
I live in Oregon, Oregon's my home ...
I love the trees, the hills, the places I have roamed ...
I long to be there, I long to be there with my own kind!
I've painted pictures on the blank walls of my cell ...
I've walked through countless dreams no mortal words can tell ...
I feel how lonely and forgotten I could be ...
My heart is crying out to those who hold the key ...
I live in Oregon, Oregon's my home ...
I love the trees, the hills, the places I have roamed ...
I long to be there, I long to be there with my own kind!
I can't go home ...
When the song hit the airwaves in 1974 it was a hit. The story behind the song soon followed. People now heard the lyrics from Jo Ann McDonald's perspective. What had been originally heard as a beautiful song transformed into a haunting plea for mercy that struck a deep, visceral –nearly painful- chord within many Americans...but especially so for Oregonians.
I came across this post about the song on Rob Kremer’s blog earlier this evening. Rob’s excellent post linked to Bill Coleman's web page (click on "Oregon" on the sidebar) where Bill explains in detail how he was inspired to write and record “Oregon; I Can’t Go Home”.
For anyone that remembers the saga of Jo Ann McDaniel, Bill Coleman’s recounting of the story is compelling and fascinating.
As you visit Bill Coleman’s site, please note that he offers the original recording of “Oregon” as a free mp3 download.
What a treat.
Thank you, Rob, for your post.
And thank you, Bill Coleman, for your wonderful story and generous sharing of your gifted work, “Oregon: I Can’t Go Home”. I -and many of my generation- are in your debt.
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September 13, 2006 |
Randy Leonard | Comments (25 so far)
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Comments
Posted by: Sponge | Sep 13, 2006 8:50:19 AM
I haven't heard that song for over 30 years, but it plays in my head every once in a while. Good words, Randy. Thanks.
Posted by: torridjoe | Sep 13, 2006 10:19:04 AM
I wonder if her story was the inspiration for Brokedown Palace, with Claire Danes. Similar story, except it was Thailand instead of Turkey. Thanks for the writeup, Randy.
Posted by: jami | Sep 13, 2006 10:42:37 AM
Perhaps she knows how a huge percentage of black men and women in America feel.
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/racepris.htm
I'm glad she was eventually freed, but it might be good to examine our own justice system before we go pointing accusing fingers far away, deep in the past.
Posted by: K Fish | Sep 13, 2006 11:55:52 AM
Wow! I remember listening to this song in grade school. For some reason I remember being told it had been written by prisoners - it's great to know the true story. Thanks for posting this!
Posted by: Madam Hatter | Sep 13, 2006 5:16:10 PM
How nice that someone's posted her address and phone number publicly on a blog. I bet she really appreciates that.
And I have to agree with Jami. I, too, am glad she's free and I understand the local perspective of this story, but our own justice system - especially as it relates to the "war on drugs" - is a mess. And I have to wonder why the thought of "a young, frightened woman unjustly jailed in a Turkish prison under a numbing life sentence" should be any more compelling than a young, frightened woman (or man) unjustly jailed in an American prison under a numbing life sentence - or any sentence for that matter.
But it's not really politically correct or conducive to fight for the little guy against "the man" anymore, is it?
Posted by: Jim Pozey | Sep 14, 2006 8:53:08 AM
Madam Hatter:
Care to give us an example of some folks unjustly imprisoned in America?
Posted by: Pat Ryan | Sep 14, 2006 4:37:22 PM
Oh! Oh! Let me.
Every single person who is in jail and has physically endangered no one, done no violence, and stolen no property.
Posted by: Madam Hatter | Sep 14, 2006 5:33:47 PM
Thanks Pat.
Jim-
Seriously? How much time have you got?
And Pat refers only to unjust laws. It isn't too hard to find countless cases of people who've been wrongfully convicted - and therefore unjustly imprisoned - of violating "just" laws (like murder) as well. [Try Googling "wrongful conviction cases"]
Briefly, here's some from Oregon:
from Center on Wrongful Convictions:
The Exonerated: Oregon
Christopher Boots
William Branson
Jasper Jenkins
Theodore V. Jordan
Santiago Ventura Morales
John Pender
Eric Proctor
Lem Woon
Posted by: Happy Hatter | Sep 16, 2006 7:49:27 PM
I think you missed the whole point Madame Hatter.
A group of musicians used their talents to write and publish a song for Jo Anne McDaniel. They donated all of the proceeds to her while she was in prison so that she might have the essentials of life.
The generosity and attention this group brought to Ms. McDaniel's plight also raised public awareness of her unjust imprisonment. It is that attention that saved Jo Anne's life and ultimately led to her release.
Fortunately for Jo Anne, she did not come from a generation of supporters who did nothing but bitch and whine, all the while anonymously.
Posted by: Robert Ted Hinds | Sep 16, 2006 9:05:19 PM
That's really heavy, Randy. Kudos for writing about it. People need to face the harsh realities that exist out there, even if they don't experience them personally.
Posted by: Madam Hatter | Sep 29, 2006 7:28:27 PM
Happy Hat-
Thanks for reiterating the obvious. Sorry it took so long for me to see it.
Actually, it is you who missed my point because I was perhaps a bit too subtle. I have a tendency to be too blunt and outspoken and have tried to temper that in my old age, and sometimes when I try to be tactful, I'm too oblique. So here's my point:
[DISCLAIMER: This is criticism but is not meant to offend anyone, so I apologize in advance if I do.]
I find it ironic that on Blue Oregon, which rarely, if ever mentions - let alone criticizes - the local police or criminal justice issues as they effect "the little guy," that so many people could wax nostalgic about this one particular (long ago and far away) injustice without acknowledging (by even occasionally writing about it here) what's going on right here, right now in our own country and neighborhoods.
And I'm sorry Randy, I support you on a lot of things and have thanked and applauded you here when I do, but you guys in city hall have got to do something about all the "deaths by cop" and other LE scandals around here. I know it's really Potter's deal and I know you're just Portland and can't control the whole state, but you can certainly talk about it, set an example and lead the way.
That's not to say all cops are bad or everyone in prison is there unjustly. I don't want to start on that false dichotomy of choices. But the cops that are bad - or are under-trained, or burnt out, or otherwise not handling situations optimally - and the policies that condone them, need to be changed.
The militarization of LE correlates to (and was funded by) the overly-punitive and hysterical war on drugs which in turn, leads to increasingly punitive laws elsewhere (Measure 11). When it's OK to marginalize and/or take away the rights of one group of people (ie, pot smokers, or the homeless for example) it's easier to do the same to others - the old slippery slope. And pretty soon, as we've now seen with habeus corpus, 200 years of freedom and democracy go down the tubes and people are rotting in prison for non-violent crimes (or are summarily executed for peeing in the street)...
just like in Turkey.
The Oregonian just reported on the AG's new "Organized Crime" report. The article goes into great length about the alleged gangs of Uzi-toting pot farmers who (they make it sound like) are going to start mowing down droves of hunters on opening day. So far, they've arrested five illegal immigrants who are there working off their debt for getting smuggled into the USA. Fear-mongering anyone?
Sorry for the rant and for raining on everyone's trip down memory lane. I just thought this was all kind of ironic.
Posted by: Frank Dufay | Sep 29, 2006 9:21:54 PM
(or are summarily executed for peeing in the street)...
just like in Turkey.
I don't know what happened, and don't feel in a position to judge. I know if someone tried to bite me, it would piss me off. I don't know what I'd do, but then I don't carry a gun either, or handcuffs, and don't have the responsibility of keeping the streets "safe."
What I DO know...or, I'll bet? Turkey has places for people to pee. Public places. Other countries are sort of civilized that way, unlike the Pearl where...well, where DO you go?
Posted by: Miss Obvious | Sep 30, 2006 11:55:44 PM
Unfortunately Ms. Madam Hatter, you have not grasped the obvious.
You have used your energy here to rant about amorphous injustices that you have yet to offer any specifics about.
Please resist the temptation to pound out another angry response to Blue Oregon readers citing various web page links and other such indistinct references.
Had you commented here with a plea for the plight of just one victim of an unjust imprisonment -including offering specifics- you may have actually begun a movement just like for, hmmmm, I wonder who?
As was stated a few comments above I am sure Ms. McDaniel, if she is reading this, is thanking the heavens above that she did not have advocates like you fighting for her release.
If she did she would still be alone and forgotten but most likely dead.
Posted by: Madam Hatter | Oct 1, 2006 5:37:07 AM
So much for my disclaimer...
Not sure what "amorphous injustices" you are referring to but the "web page links and other such indistinct references" I cited above were merely in response to Jim Pozey's question:
"Care to give us an example of some folks unjustly imprisoned in America?"
I happen to believe, like Jami and Pat Ryan noted above, that "it might be good to examine our own justice system before we go pointing accusing fingers far away, deep in the past," and that "every single person who is in jail and has physically endangered no one, done no violence, and stolen no property" has been unjustly imprisoned.
But Jim (perhaps ironically?) asked for an example. So I gave him several. From Oregon. Who were exonerated - and therefore proven to be unjustly incarcerated. If you or anyone else now need specifics in order to verify the information I provided, do the research yourself. It's not like it's hard to find.
And, hey, I'm not out to start a movement nor did I find fault with the movement for Ms. McDonald. I think what was done was great. I just think it's sad that that kind of activism - and the same type of issues - are rarely discussed or even mentioned on the leading progressive political blog in the state.
Finally, since none of you know me from Adam, I find it hilarious that you feel justified in blithely condemning me personally with statements like:
"Ms. McDaniel, if she is reading this, is thanking the heavens above that she did not have advocates like you fighting for her release. If she did she would still be alone and forgotten but most likely dead."
and
"Fortunately for Jo Anne, she did not come from a generation of supporters who did nothing but bitch and whine, all the while anonymously."
- especially from hypocrits who also "bitch and whine" (aka blog) anonymously!
FYI - I'm very active in the issues that I feel strongly about and, do a hell of a lot more than just bitch about them online. In fact, our efforts have led to a federal civil suit being filed - the only recourse available to us to seek justice in this particular matter.
When I have tried to bring up this specific case on Blue Oregon, it was ignored. Or criticized - as this post proves. As has been almost every reference I've made to the general topics of police use of force, the war on drugs, or our dysfunctional criminal justice system.
Just recently, there were three people killed by cops in one weekend here in Oregon. In Clackamas County, 4 out of the 10 homicides that occured in the county last year were committed by cops. 40%!
Whether you believe they were all justified or not, it was big news for every media outlet and a hot topic on many local blogs. But not even a word about any of it here. Not even a mention, as far as I saw. The movers and shakers in the Democratic party in Oregon - the party that's supposed to be protectors of, and advocates for, the poor, the disenfranchised, the powerless - were and still are silent.
If by pointing that out, I offend anyone, I'm sorry. But you confuse the issue with your personal attacks and by misconstruing my words to imply that I was doing the same about the movement for Ms. McDaniel.
Posted by: Rocky Wilson | Oct 7, 2006 2:10:01 AM
Randy, I've seen Bill Coleman play dozens of times. His support of Joann McDaniels was a big deal in the day. If you get the chance, drop in on his gig. He does "Crying" better than you do.
Posted by: Randy Leonard | Oct 7, 2006 10:38:59 AM
"He does "Crying" better than you do."
No Way!
Is he still in the Salem area, Rocky? Does he still do "Oregon".
Drop by BO more often...I can always use the help.
Posted by: Daniel Mark Norris Newton Davis | Oct 14, 2006 3:29:48 PM
This is the first time I have been here. I found it when I googled JoAnn McDaniel,Turkey. Going thru some old papers I ran across an old flier from a Dance/Concert I put on at Portland State University back on December 27th,'73,'74, to raise money towards her release. Black Hawk County and Fast Eddy played. $2.50 at the door. It was a long time ago, far away, and yet very close to home. Finding the flier and reading the words again brought it all back as if it were today, bringing tears to my eyes.
It is those emotional events in our lives that motivate us to stand up and make a difference. Many of us did, and are, to make it better than it was. My friends were being shipped off to Vietnam whether they wanted to go or not. And we didn't even have the right to vote yet, untill we turned 21. Not old enough to vote but, old enough to go off to war and die. Life expectance of a gunner on a helicopter was 22 seconds.
2,700 lives lost in Iraq. 70,000 lives lost in Vietnam. Millions of lives lost in both WWI and WWII. Remembering what has gone on before is the only way to understand how we got to here, that we may have a clearer perspective of where we need to go. There will always be wrongs that need to be altered and/or changed. We need those emotional triggers to motivate us to emerge out of apathy, the biggest enemy to freedom. It is in the struggle for what is right that we find our humanity.
Randy, I want to thank you, and compliment you, on your actions to promote bio-fuels, to help correct the problems created by the fossil fuel. I will see you soon when I testify before the council regarding my exposure to toxic mold, and my extensive research into how toxic mold degenerates the human body. See you then.
Daniel Mark Norris Newton Davis
Posted by: Randy Leonard | Oct 14, 2006 3:37:36 PM
Daniel-
Thank you for your touching comment.
I was a student at PSU when you put on the concert back in the 70's...it is my loss I didn't go.
I look forward to meeting you.
Posted by: Alexander | Oct 26, 2006 12:04:57 PM
Last spring I "spammed" this information in many sites relavant to Cascadia so I think it you might have been influenced by the "spamming". I was one of those teens that would listen to this song in my childhood thinking this should be the anthem of the country of Oregon (the old Oregon Territory). Then back in spring I did a search for "BlackHawk County" remembing the single I use to have in my childhood and would play constantly. I posted in various online forums with the goal to renew interest in the song and ask the question "could this be a bioregional anthem for Cascadia?" Today many of us in Oregon and Washington and Northern California as well as even British Columbia are looking to the idea that maybe our path should be focused on local responsiblity and not the complience to politicians living far to the eastern side of North America. Our homeland has been named various names in the past from Oregon to Ernest Callenbach's Ecotopia and from Chinook Illahee to Cascadia. Whatever this name maybe called by Her children we long for Her soothing and refreshing waters that moisten the soil, that soaks the moss, that replemishes land, that gives sanctuary to salmon, that gives life forests and that embraces us as Her children. Oregon, Cascadia, Chinook Illahee, Ecotopia or just home is the forests, mountians, ocean, rivers and high deserts that is the very essence of our being. To me the liquid that flows in our trees is the same liquid that flows in my veins. Having been a Cascadian who has lived at times far from my birthplace and longing for it as if I wasa salmon needing to return to motherly riverbed I could relate so much to the feeling "I cant go home" especially in these days of Amerikan Fascism. I hope that others will listen to this deeply moving song and relate to is call.
http://www.colemansrock.com/Tunes/Oregon.mp3.mp3
A site dedicated to the idea of a republic of Cascadia (Bioregional Cooperative Commonwealth of Cascadia)
http://republic-of-cascadia.tripod.com/
An online yahoo forum dedicated to Cascadan bioregionalism
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cascadian_Bioregionalism/
Posted by: Shawnie | Jul 15, 2007 3:43:09 PM
I can't believe I found this song. We were stationed far from home when this song came out - I was 11 but I sure remember how sad it was. Many thanks for posting all the background info!
Posted by: Randy Leonard | Jul 15, 2007 10:38:28 PM
You are welcome, Shawnie.
Posted by: holly Patterson | Aug 16, 2009 10:31:47 AM
I grew up in Salem Oregon..but have lived in Tokyo, Calgary, Scottsdale, LA, and Morristown NJ. When ever I would get homesick this song would play in my head and heart, not making it any easier mind you..but at least putting into words what I was feeling. I have been looking for this song just to hear it again and have been happy that I have found it. Now that I am living in Oregon again, I know why I am back.
So, the song was meant to support a Oregon girl in a Turkish Prison...all the politics aside...this song speaks to anyone who has lived in Oregon and for one reason or other can't be there now.
Posted by: sıcak video | Oct 16, 2009 5:25:14 AM
simdi buraya ne yazacagim dikkatli bakarsa gorebilirsin belki
Posted by: Elaine | Nov 7, 2009 12:01:37 AM
As an Oregonian who has seen the inside of a Turkish jail and experienced first hand the craziness and corruption of Turkish police, this song has always moved me with compassion for the horrors that Jo Ann McDaniel endured.
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Posted by: Rob Kremer | Sep 13, 2006 7:35:40 AM
The songwriter has not seen Joanne since a few months after she was released from prison after getting back to American in a prisoner exchange. He told me that he often wonders what became of her.
One of my readers did some sleuthing and thinks he may have found her down in Coos County (which is where she grew up) and in the comments section of my blog post has posted the address and phone # that might be her.
Would be interesting to see what she is doing now. I remember that song so well, and Randy is right, its haunting tone did indeed touch some kind of visceral chord with me that I carried with me for the last three decades.