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Jerusalem Tomorrow

by Jack Hotel

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about

Shortly before he died onstage during a songwriters-in-the-round performance, David Olney was on my mind. I had been listening to his record 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 on repeat, and had just performed “Jerusalem Tomorrow” live for the first time. A few days later, he was gone.

Soon after, I was in Nashville (his hometown) for a planned trip. There, through a friend, I learned that Olney had recently tipped his hat to my version of “Jerusalem Tomorrow” on his video podcast. I saved the clip and it still reliably produces a haunted little frisson.

Since then, I’ve carried a sense of cosmic connection to the man, and I hope this arrangement of his perfect song reaches him, wherever such things travel.

-Günter

lyrics

Man, you should've seen me way back then
I could tell a tale, I could make it spin
I could tell you black was white
I could tell you day was night
Not only that, I could tell you why
Back then, I could really tell a lie

Well, I'd hire a kid to say that he was lame
Then I'd touch him and I'd make him walk again
Then I'd pull some magic trick
I'd pretend to heal the sick
I was takin' everything they had to give
It wasn't all that bad a way to live

Well, I'm in this desert town and it's hot as hell
But no one's buyin' what I got to sell
I make my lame kid walk
I make my dumb guy talk
I'm preachin' up a storm both night and day
Everyone just turns and walks away

Well, I can see that I'm only wastin' time
So I head across the road to drink some wine
This old man comes up to me
He says, "I seen you on the street
You're pretty good, if I do say so myself
But the guy come through last month, he was somethin' else

"Instead of callin' down fire from above
He just gets real quiet and talks about love
And I'll tell you somethin' funny
He didn't want nobody's money
I'm not exactly sure what this all means
But it's the damnedest thing I swear I've ever seen"

Well, since that time every town's the same
Can't make a dime, don't know why I came
I decide I'll go and find him
And find out who's behind him
He's got everyone convinced that he's for real
Well, I figure we can work some kind of deal

So he offers me a job and I say fine
He says I'll get paid off on down the line
Well, I guess I'll string along
Don't see how too much could go wrong
As long as he pays my way I guess I'll follow
We're headin' for Jerusalem tomorrow

credits

released March 18, 2026
Günter Voelker - steel- and nylon-string acoustic guitars, electric guitar, lead vocal, piano, harmony vocals, synths
Joe Salvati - Weissenborn
Joshua Rector - violin
Kim Taruc - plucked and bowed upright bass

Recorded at Future Bread Studios in Lincoln, NE by Günter Voelker. Produced and mixed by Günter Voelker. Design by Günter Voelker. Song by David Olney.

In memory of David Olney.

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Jack Hotel Lincoln, Nebraska

Jack Hotel contains multitudes. A listen to their discography reveals a range that encompasses Ry Cooder and Leo Kottke, Gillian Welch and Townes Van Zandt, Mississippi John Hurt and Etta Baker — but this band is no mere product of its influences. Since their start in 2012, Jack Hotel has proven itself one of the best, and most original, folk acts in the midwest. ... more

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