Disclaimer—I don't own Newsies or Rod Stweart/This Song which I will tell you the title of at the end of the fic. It would ruin the story if you knew the title. I have changed all the lyrics that should read 'George' or 'Georgie Boy' to 'Jack' or 'Jacky Boy' for the story's purpose.
A/n: I always wanted to write a fic to this song, it is a very, very sad song with a story behind it. I hope you enjoy.
Jacky Boy
The year of 1970 was a year of change and a year of progress. It was the year that I, Spot Conlon, first ever met a young man named Francais Jack Kelly. He was a nice enough man, always polite and always courteous. We were sitting near each other in a diner and he asked if he could use the salt. We got to talking.
Now, the year 2004 I am reminded of him. I am at my mid-fifties and have a grown family and a home to call my own. The thing I want you to hear is the story of Francais Kelly, or my friend, Jack.
In these days of changing ways
so called liberated days
a story comes to mind of a friend of mine
We were sitting in this diner, eating our breakfast, reading the paper. Beside me at the counter sat this boy. This tall, brown-haired boy. He was probably around my age of twenty, perhaps a tad older. Though he tried to hide it, I could see every single tear running down his face.
He wiped his cheeks when he saw me watching him, but it did no good, as soon they were covered once again.
"What's wrong there?" I asked kindly and he turned to me, amazed that I was asking.
He swallowed and wiped his tears again. "I don't want to bother you," he said softly.
"I'll listen if only you'll talk," I offered and I suppose that's what he'd been waiting to hear for who knows how long. Soon the whole story came out. Jack was gay.
Jacky Boy was gay I guess
nothin' more or nothin' less
the kindest guy I ever knew
"Spot," he'd say to me after we became friends. "You should have seen her face. Oh, how my Mama cried. I can't believe I did that to her!" and he would stare at me for a few minutes.
I would shake my head and tell him that he did the right thing. It's damn hard to get someone to believe something they don't want to.
His mother's tears fell in vain
the afternoon Jack tried to explain
that he needed love like all the rest
Then he'd look sick for a few seconds. "And you should have seen my Dad! He couldn't believe it! He looked at me like I was a monster!" and the tears would start falling. He would sob and choke on them, hysteric and hiccupping. Jack missed his family so, so much.
Pa said there must be a mistake
how can my son not be straight
after all I've said and done for him
So, he told me, he waited all alone at the bus stop, hoping that a bus would come and, at the same time, wishing that it wouldn't. If only he could stay at home. But he couldn't, the doors were closed to any sinners in his home, and homosexuality was a sin.
Leavin' home on a Greyhound bus
cast out by the ones he loves
A victim of these gay days it seems
And in New York City, where he finally came to rest, is where he met me. I was never a gay man, but I was never one to be afraid of them either. The world was changing and so were its people, as was expected of them. Jack was just one of the first to jump on the bandwagon.
Soon he began to go out more. He'd be seen at parties, having fun, toasting it up to the host, and meeting all sorts of characters. Everyone loved Jack and everyone looked up to and respected him, no matter what.
Jacky went to New York town
where he quickly settled down
and soon became the toast of the great white way
He could get into any party, any club and any rendezvous. It paid to be friends with Jack. He was handsome, he was smart, he was employed and self-assured. No queer man in his right mind would turn him down; Jack was too big of a catch, yet he was insanely uncatchable.
Perhaps this made him more desirable. With every heart he broke, the more parties he was invited to and the more important were the shoulders he rubbed.
Accepted by Manhattan's elite
in all the places that were chic
No party was complete without Jack
But, no matter how late he stayed out and no matter how much he drank or how many young men he dated, Jack would wake up alone. Inwardly alone. He had many lovers who he would spend the nights with, but never did he mention them if they weren't there. Jack had yet to settle. His heart was still yearning for love, but all these men could guarantee him was a good time.
Along the boulevards he'd cruise
and all the old queens blew a fuse
Everybody loved Jacky boy
Five years after meeting him Jack and I met for lunch, like we did every Wednesday afternoon. We would talk about work, the news, politics, everything except our families and our love lives. Until that Wednesday.
"Spot," he said excitedly.
I smiled, pleased to see he was so worked up about something, he never showed his emotions.
"I think I'm in love." He grinned as if it were the greatest thing in the world. And it was.
"Oh, Jack," I said, awestruck. "That's great news!"
The man's name was David Jacobs. He was a couple years Jack's junior and was a student in New York. They met at a coffee shop by accident a month ago. David eldest sister was a good friend of mine, I soon found out, and I managed to wrangle tickets for the couple, the night Jack planned to tell David of his love.
The last time I saw Jack alive
was in the summer of seventy-five
he said he was in love I said I'm pleased
He left before the ending of the play, fervent to tell his love the news. Ready to hear the same from David. Jack and David left and ventured into the darkened streets.
Jack attended the opening night
of another Broadway hype
but split before the final curtain fell
They turned down an alley. David clutched to Jack's arm, relishing the feeling of this man beside him. Jack smelt the air of David's aroma. Slightly of pine and aftershave. It was cool out and the two of them, huddled together in a cocoon of longing and passion, were eager for the bedroom.
Jack was eager for the words he'd wanted to say his entire life.
Deciding to take a short cut home
arm in arm they meant no wrong
A gentle breeze blew down Fifth Avenue
Watching the lovers was a group of men. They were hidden in the shadows, watching the boys stumble along the New York alleyway. They stepped forward, one of them grabbing David by the shoulder.
Jack hit the man away. Jack and David sped their pace, but the gang ensued, chasing them through the streets, dizzy with the thought of blood and the alluring aftermath of rum. Women screamed as they passed and eventually Jack told David to run, Jack turned and faced his pursuers.
David heard Jack utter the words that changed his life forever. "I love you."
With a tear-streaked face David watched as a knife ran through Jack's neck. He watched as Jack's head fell into the gutter. He watched until he was sure he'd be sick.
Then David ran. He ran until he didn't know where he was. He ran until he was sure no one was after him. When he was done running he called for a cab and returned to the place Jack had died. His body was gone.
Out of a darkened side street came
a New Jersey gang with just one aim
to roll some innocent passer-by
There ensued a fearful fight
screams rang out in the night
Jacky's head hit a sidewalk cornerstone
David told his story to detective after detective.
"A man with a leather jacket, a knife," was all David could manage.
I know that Jack didn't mean to get into trouble, leaving the play early, turning down the alleyway. He was just eager for love, the thing that made him feel alive was, ironically, the thing that killed him in the end.
A leather kid, a switchblade knife
He did not intend to take his life
He just pushed his luck a little too far that night
"After they killed Mr Kelly they ran," an officer told David. "Someone called the police and soon an ambulance came. There was nothing we could do. His head...it was sliced clean off."
"That's why no one chased me," David said, tragically. No one chased him because Jack had stopped him from it.
The sight of blood dispersed the gang
A crowd gathered, the police came
An ambulance screamed to a halt on Fifty-third and Third
It was nowhere. No papers covered it and no one talked about it. No one wondered whet happened to the handsome man who was always at the same bar on Friday nights and no one questioned as to the whereabouts of my lunch partner every Wednesday.
Jacky's life ended there
but I ask who really cares
David was heartbroken, though. "How could they not cover the story?" he asked me once. I didn't know.
I told David the wisest thing that Jack ever said to me. The only thing so powerful to stick in my mind and echo around for years. It is still there and I tell my children as well.
Jack once said to me and I quote
He said 'Never wait or hesitate
Get in kid, before it's too late
You may never get another chance
'Cos youth a mask but it don't last
live it long and live it fast'
Jacky was a friend of mine
For a while afterwards David just cried. He cried and screamed for Jack. He screamed into nowhere that he wished the killers dead. He wished it for himself at times, but I'd have to stop him.
"Jack wouldn't want that," I said.
He looked at me coldly once. "But I do."
I wish Jack never left early. In some ways I wish he never fell in love. He was a good man and he was my best friend.
Oh Jacky stay, don't go away
Jacky please stay you take our breath away
Oh Jacky stay, don't go away
Jacky please stay you take our breath away
Oh Jacky stay, don't go away
Jacky, Jacky please stay you take our breath away
Oh Jacky stay...
He was beautiful, even when his head was chopped off and severed at the neck. He was beautiful because he found love and he was willing to do anything for it.
EndAdmittedly, at the end it got a tad corny, but I hope you liked it anyways! This song is actually called 'The Killing of Georgie (Parts One and Two)', but that gave it away. Please review.