Jesus Just Left Chicago

Album: Tres Hombres (1973)
Play Video
  • Jesus just left Chicago
    And he's bound for New Orleans
    Well now, Jesus just left Chicago
    And he's bound for New Orleans
    Yeah, yeah
    Workin' from one end to the other and all points in between

    Took a jump through Mississippi
    Well, muddy water turned to wine
    Took a jump through Mississippi
    Muddy water turned to wine
    Yeah, yeah
    Then out to California through the forests and the pines
    Ah, take me with you, Jesus

    You might not see him in person
    But he'll see you just the same
    You might not see him in person
    But he'll see you just the same
    Yeah, yeah
    You don't have to worry 'cause takin' care of business is his name Writer/s: BILLY GIBBONS, DUSTY HILL, FRANK BEARD
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 7

  • Vd Jones from MarsThe line is : "thru 5 points and la paz" look at the map of southern california not the forest and the pines.
  • Johnsson from WisconsinJJLC is about Muddy Waters who, as blues listeners know, went down to New Orleans to "get me a mojo hand".

    There is also a nod to "Aw, take me witcha man, when you go", a Little Walter shout from Waters' seminal "Louisiana Blues".
  • Demento from TexasThere's more soul in New Orleans, and the "forest and the pines" are as likely a ref to East Texas, not far from New Orleans, as to anywhere in California.
  • Jim from ChicagoThe song was about radio waves coming out of Chicago from WLS. See: VH1 Storytellers
  • J from Lx, PortugalChicago is home to a special kind of blues. New Orleans is a city of recreation and sin, it's also home to a lesser known kind of blues.
    Both of these before Blagojevich and Katrina, of course.
    I like to think that Jesus left Chicago full of blues and headed down to N.O. to get himself some comfort? R&R? BBQ? Though he keeps working at each point in between.
    ZZ Top talk many times of honest, hardworking folk in their songs. Who's more honest and hardworking than the Lord?
  • Jim from Pleasant Hill, CaWillie, as much as I'm weary of songs about drugs and other vices, that analysis makes more sense than some quirky angle on religion. The title character's name may be better pronounced Hey-Zeus. The line about "the forests and the pines" in CA always seemed cryptic, but it may refer to Humboldt or Mendocino Counties.
  • Willie from Scottsdale, AzI have read the song is more about drug dealers than spirituality. In the early 1900s, many of the narcotics used in the South came from up North. The third stanza, "You might not see him in person /But he'll see you just the same /You don't have to worry /'Cause takin' care of business is his name." is not a way any bluesman ever referred to ol' J.C. And when the song is played live, the second verse about water & wine is always replaced with, "Took a trip down through __________ [insert concert city name] / He'll sure make you feel fine." Hardly a religious sentiment. In the least, it has a very deconstructive bent.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.