Story Behind The Song

the title and the melody appeared together spontaneously, and the song was cut live (vocals included) in a project studio in Manhattan soon afterwards

Song Description

a romantic plea by a man whose love affair has been cut short by his own direction. he's not repentant of leading a criminal life for moral reasons; he only regrets having missed out on a flowering love relationship. he's not concerned with catching up

Lyrics

Hello Natalie, don't you recognize my face?
I know it's been a long time since my crime took me away.
Did you remain faithful? Is my return what you expected?
Or did you hate your having to wait for me to be corrected?
And I was your beau, but I know now it's hard to feel the same
When on the outside all these years you've had dear old me to blame.

Natalie, oh Natalie, I finally made it home.
Natalie, oh Natalie, done my time but I've never done you wrong.

'Twas day by day, digging dashes in a cell block wall,
Singing blue songs like "Sing Me Back Home" 'til the warden led me down the hall.
Then I returned to the scene of the crime, crying: "Jesus, I can't believe
That all this ruin is my own doing is too much to conceive."
So Natalie, you're not hte only one who's had problems to figure out;
I've done a lot of thinking in my time--that's what doing time is all about.

Natalie, oh Natalie, I finally made it home.
Natalie, oh Natalie, time I've done but I've never done you wrong.

And I can't see no other way to be; I just wanna pick up right where we left off.
And I can't see anyone but me in your arms, in your heart,
on your mind or in your soul.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, Natalie, I finally made it home.
Come on, come on, tonight I'm yours--the time is right and this time
I'll do no wrong.