Songs for Our Journey 53

Depot Day
© K Hannan 1981 St Augustine, FL.
 
This is the saga of the Depot at Malaga St.
Hot food, cold food, good food that’s hard to beat
Hungry stomachs gather round for a special treat
Y’all come down to the Depot, it’s time to eat!
 
There’s art on the walls and on the ceiling
When you walk in the door you get a comfortable feeling
Baskets, and banners and flowers too
Let you know good folks have been passin’ through
 
Ned’s on the grill in his new straw hat
He’s cooking somethin’ good you can bet on that
And we’re all lookin’ cause he’s really bookin’
And when I say fast, I mean whizzin’ past
 
Oh Depot
Hooray hooray…
Another Depot Day
 
Out in back where the water swishes
Let’s say hooray to the washers of the dishes
Doris, Al and Loretta with smilin’ faces
Keep those dishes movin’ through on a regular basis
Cause it’s basic to the scene that the dishes be clean
And they wash ‘em by hand, cause there ain’t no machine
 
Lots of great people bring your food to you
Leslie, Al Jill, Tom and Doris too
Workin’ together in some tight situations
Usin’ uncanny powers of concentration
They make it look easy, they make it look fun
Well let’s give em a cheer when the day is done
 
Chorus
 
For the cakes and the breads give Joy the credit
Try Maureen’s lasagna, you won’t regret it
And James helps clean at the end of the day
When the customers have all gone on their way
 
And on every customer’s smilin’ face
You can see that the Depot is a magic place
Where hugs and smiles are freely given
Where people celebrate their daily livin’
 
Chorus
It’s a meeting place of friends & neighbors
It’s a circling energy of love’s best labors
And now this song is nearly through
Just want to say Depot, I love you
 
Thank you Depot
Hooray Hooray
Another Depot Day
 ***************************************

 On Winter Solstice of 1980 I moved to St Augustine, Florida with my then partner Tom Santoni.  We fell in love with the town, not in small part because of Ned Pollock and Joy Delia and all the other people who made the Malaga Street Depot restaurant shine. In the video above Ned & Joy tell some of the stories of the Depot.  I wrote the song above for a Depot celebration in spring of 1981. Ned went on to run the Gypsy Cab Company in St Augustine, which is still winning awards for Ned's creative and oh so delicious cooking. And just tonight I found out that Ned is releasing a cookbook this week!  I just ordered one.  If you'd like some recipes of the kind of cooking you might  wish you'll get to taste on a vacation in St Augustine, this is the book you are looking for. I just ordered one here:   https://www.facebook.com/NedsKitchenCookbook