If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.
To read the Tape Summary, click here. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1, Pt. 2).
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Music by Jonestown band
Song 1: Instrumental
Male: Yes, we’re taking a special ride with the Jonestown Express.
(Tape edit)
Song 2: (Woman singer)
There ain’t no reason for you to be sad
Well, yeah,
To find out it can’t be,
It can’t be this bad,
Put a smile on your face
Why don’t you be who you are?
I know you’ll feel better.
If you will only try to make it happen.
That’s the only way to be
Make it happen.
Try and you will see,
There ain’t no reason that you have to sit down, yeah
(unintelligible line)
You were born to be free, born to be free, free to be who you are
I know you’ll get better
If you will only try
Make it happen.
That’s the only way to be,
Is to make it happen.
Try and you will see.
There ain’t no reason for you to be sad
Well, yeah,
To find out it can’t be,
It can’t be this bad,
Put a smile on your face
Why don’t you be who you are?
I know you’ll get better.
If you will only try to make it happen.
That’s the only way to be
Make it happen.
Try and you will see.
Song 3: (Woman singer)
(“Keep On Dancing”, by the Jackson 5)
Baby, baby, listen to me
There is something your eyes should see
Show you what you’ve got to do
You just follow, I’ll let you through
You gotta keep on dancin’
Let the music take your mind
Keep on dancin’
Have a real, real good time
Why don’t you get up off the floor
Keep on dancin’
You can’t get no more (unintelligible word)
Keep on dancin’, dancin’, yeah
Get up off the floor
Dancin’ (unintelligible word) make you happy
And happy’s what you want to be
Dancin’ fast, just spinnin’ around
Dancin’ slow and you get down
You gotta keep on dancin’
Let the music take your mind
Keep on dancin’
Have a real, real good time
Keep on dancin’
Why don’t you get up off the floor
Keep on dancin’
You can’t get more (unintelligible word)
Dancin’, dancin’
(Scats for balance of song)
Song 4: (“There’s a spark of magic in your eyes,” by the Stylistics)
Male: Here’s the sweet, smooth velvet voice of the sweet ol’ called Miss Ollie Smith. Come on.
There´s a spark of magic in your eyes
Candyland appears each time you smile
Never thought that fairy tales come true
But they come true when I´m near you
You´re a genie in disguise
Full of wonder and surpriseOh betcha by golly, wow
You´re the one that I´ve been waiting for forever
And ever will my love for you keep growin´ strong
Keep growin´ strongIf I could I´d catch a falling star
To shine on you so I´ll know where you are
Order rainbows in your favorite shade
To say I love you, thinking of you
Write your name across the sky
Anything you ask I´ll try,Oh, betcha by golly, wow
You´re the one that I´ve been waiting for forever
And ever will my love for you keep growin´ strong
Keep growin´ strong,Oh, betcha by golly, wow
You´re the one that I´ve been waiting for forever
And ever will my love for you keep growin´ strong
Keep growin´ strong
Male: That was the–
(Tape edit)
Song 5: (Instrumental)
(Tape edit)
Song 6: (Julius Evans sings)
Run to the sunset hand in hand
A lonely beach
The warmth of her laughter
This is the place and time you’d rather be
Just not for now
But ever after
When you think of the beginning
When your love is true
The joy and the sorrow
Are feelings that are true
The day we’ll be together
For as it goes
Love becomes impressions in the diary of your mind
Love becomes a precious gem so hard to find
When you think of filling all the spaces in your life
Lonely places in your life
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Keep on running
Through your mind
Keep on running
Through your mind, yeah yeah yeah
Keep on running
Through your mind
When you stand to the silent invitations of her eyes
You draw her near to make sweet love
Till the sound begins to rise
You know how to touch each other
In your body, mind and soul.
There is no greater ecstasy
Than when love has taken hold
(unintelligible line)
For as it goes
Love becomes impressions in the diary of your mind
Love becomes a precious gem that’s so hard to find
And when you think of filling all the spaces in your life
Lonely places in your life
Oh, yeah
Keep on running
Through your mind
Keep on running
(Scats for balance of song)
Male: That’s the mighty Julius [Evans]. Let’s get some (unintelligible word) for Julius.
(tape edit)
Band plays instrumental version of “Sweet Georgia Brown” in background throughout as woman speaks
“Moms Mabley” [likely Bertha Cook]: Now this is where it separates the old folks from the young folks. Woo. Greg gave me a pat on the back, I notice he’s getting a little bit lower each time.
Crowd: (calls and laughter)
Moms: Oh, thank you, son. Mom needs it. Shooh! Well, I’ll tell you, tonight I’ve just been asked to repeat. So, keep your memory a little high. First one, Jimmy asked me to do. You know, I wrote a little book for children only. I’m redoing the nursery rhymes. Let the children know the truth.
Crowd: (Laughter)
Moms: Yeah. So you know that one that says, Mary had a little lamb, Fleece was white as snow? No way. Mary had a little lamb, and the doctor was really surprised.
Crowd: (calls and laughter)
Moms: Now you know, Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard, to get her poor dog a bone. When she got there, the cupboard was bare. That’s the old way. Moms telling it like it is. Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard, to get her poor dog a bone. When she bent over, Rover took over.
Crowd: (calls and laughter)
Moms: He gave her a bone of his own.
Crowd: (calls and laughter)
Moms: I like Jimmy’s jokes. There was another (unintelligible word) goodie. I thought it was a little goodie. Someone asked me to do this. This is about Jesus.
Voice in crowd: Oh, go ahead.
Moms: You know, he always– he was the best teacher we’ve had. Yeah? So one morning, early, he was taking his disciples and a few others on a retreat. So they started out very, very early. And as they walked along, he said, now everybody pick up a stone. My, my. So there’s always a lazy one in the bunch. (Laughs) I know a certain little black fellow picked up a pebble. So okay. They went on the long day’s journey. Starting at about noon, he says, now everybody sit down. They were all in the shade, sittin’ down. And he says, now, put forth your stone. And they did. And he turned it into bread. So everybody ate and had a good meal, all but this one fellow who picked up the pebble. As they started on the afternoon journey, he got a great big stone. The others were very full, so they got smaller por– smaller stones. And as they walked along, it was pretty hot, but in the evening, he sat them down and started teaching. So he said, everyone now put forth your rocks and lay them on the ground. So they did, and so he said, upon this rock, I build my stone– my church, on that bigrock. The fellow said, not on thisrock. You gone turn this rock to breadtonight.
(Music)
Moms: Well, I can only tell you one more. You wanna hear that one?
Voice in crowd: Yeah, go ahead, Mom.
Moms: Well, when we were down– when I was down in the San Francisco, right there at Geary and Fillmore, a lady got on the bus. She had a baby. The bus driver said, umm, is that a ugly baby. So she got so mad, she was just so mad, and she was mumblin’ as she walked back to her seat. She sat down beside a drunk. And he said, what’s the matter, lady? She says, that bus driver– driver called my baby ugly. She said, I am so mad. He said, well, lady, you go up there and give him a piece of your mind. Tell him just what you think about him. And if he don’t like it, I’ll come up there, and I’m gone help you out. But he said– he stretched out his hand and said, give me your monkey, I’ll hold it while you –
Crowd: (Laughter and band over last two words)
Male: One more time for Moms Mabley.
(tape edit)
Song 7: “The Way We Were,” by Gladys Knight
Could it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line?
And if we had the chance to do it again
Tell me
Would we?
Could we?
Memories like the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Could it be that it was all so, so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
And if we had the chance to do it again
Tell me
Would we?
Could we?
Memories were beautiful and yet
What’s too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
Oh, it’s the laughter we will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were.
Song 8: “Everybody’s Talking at Me,” by Harry Nilsson
Everybody’s talkin’ about me
I can’t hear a word they’re sayin’
Only the echoes of my mind
People stop and starin’
I can’t even see their faces
Only the shadows of their eyesI’m going where the sun keeps shinin’
Through the pouring rain
Goin’ where the weather suits my clothes
Bankin’ off of the northeast winds
Sailin’ on a summer breeze
Skippin’ over the ocean like a stone
Woman: (Speaks) Diane [Wilkerson] on piano, let’s give her a hand. (Pause) Lew Jones on congas. (Pause) Put your hands together.
Song 9: “How Deep Is Your Love,” by the BeeGees (periodic tape distortions) sung by male, joined by woman
(first few lines distorted)
How deep is your love, how deep is your love
How deep is your love?
I really mean to learn
‘Cause we’re living in a world of fools
Breaking us down when they all should let us be
We belong to you and meI believe in you
You know the door to my very soul
You’re the light in my deepest, darkest hour
You’re my savior when I fall
And you may not think I care for you
When you know down inside that I really do
And it’s me you need to show(Repeated several times)
One more time. One more time, come on.
(Chorus repeated several times)
(Tape edit)
Song 10: Adaptation of “Young, Gifted and Black,” by Aretha Franklin)
To be strong, gifted, and black;
Oh, what a lovely precious thing
Oh, when you’re, when you’re
Strong, gifted, and black
We must begin to tell our people
In a cold world, you know
There’s are millions of boys and girls
Who are strong, gifted and black
Well, well, they got their souls intact
And that’s a fact!
And that’s a fact!
To be strong, gifted and black
Ours is a quest, that’s just begun
There’s a world waiting for you
Yours is the quest that’s just begun
When you’re feeling just a little low
There’s a great truth you all should remember and know:
That we are strong, gifted, and black!
We got our souls intact
And that’s a fact!
And that’s a fact!
We got our souls intact
We got our souls intact – and that’s a fact, that’s a fact!
There’s are millions of boys and girls
Who are strong, gifted and black
Well, they got their souls intact
they got their souls intact
they got their souls intact
they got their souls intact
they got their souls intact
they got their souls intact
they got their souls intact
Come on, clap your hands,
Come on, clap your hands,
Come on, clap your hands,
To be strong, strong strong strong
To be strong–
(tape edit)
Male: –( unintelligible beginning) coming at you, straight out of the jungle, because this gonna blow your mind this time, because we was movin’ and doin’ with the Jonestown Express. You can bet your last money, it’s all gone be a (unintelligible word) honey on the behalf of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project. It’s always been fun, but I want to tell you, this was a Jim Jones Production, child baby.
Crowd: (Cries and cheers)
Song 11: Instrumental
Song 12:
I’ll make the first step
And you will make the last
We’ll join hands with Father
We’ll go
The hills may sometimes
Seem hard for you to climb
But I know we can make it by and by
We’ll go on fighting
Till this ends
To live together in peaceI’ll make the first step
And you will make– make the next
And we’ll join hands with Father
We’ll go
The hills may sometimes
Seem hard for us to climb
But I know we’re gonna make it by and by
We’ll go, go, go on fighting
Until this ends
To live together in peace
Together in peace
End of tape