Leave, Luanne

Lyrics:
[THE CAJUN] Luanne's fat lip is dryin' The bastard's bacon fryin' The shiner 'round her eye's Gone bust and bleeding He shouts, "Girl, set the table!" But he knows she ain't able— Her arm's done broke And limp like yoke And softly she's repeating

"Leave, Luanne Why don't you march out that door?" Southern woman, he ain't no good to you Leave, Luanne Louisiana wants war But it's you dying on her ruby plains And yet loyal Luanne remains

Ever since he got him laid off His sanity just made off No, he was never nice But now he's cruel He rapes her And he beats her She don't ‘fess how he treats her ‘Cause a Bible verse says it won't get worse And she won't be a fool

You won't never

[THE CAJUN + LES VOIX EN DESSOUS INTERMITTENTLY] Leave, Luanne ‘Cause if you walk out that door His truck will be gunnin' for you No, you won't Leave, Luanne Or he'll give you what for Ya got heart where you shoulda had brains And so loyal Luanne remains

[Bridge] Someone's Howling Screams like sighing With battered breath (O-o-oh!) Grating Growling Never dying In a fate worse than death!

But months of such conditions Turn laymen to logicians And tonight the bastard's sleeping like a log So she plucks the kitchen cleaver

Creeps toward his roped up lab-retriever And she cuts the rope, and hope on hope She starts to shout "Your dog's got out!" She's got her chance With no back glance She runs out to the bog Screamin', screamin'

"Leave, Luanne!" Leave, Luanne You got a life left to live In a house hangin' off the golden coast Leave, Luanne You won't forget nor forgive And she don't feel the stings and rips and scrapes As finally Luanne escapes

[Instrumental]

Swim, Luanne! Swim, Luanne! And in this swamp of leeches (oh!) As the preacher preaches As a light (as a light!) In the night (in the night!) Push through the marsh and brushes As the blood inside you rushes Left and right (left and right!) All your might (all your might!)

Until ya reach the bank And ya crawl onto the bank ‘Til ya feel a little yank on your hair And stricken stare at the bastard Who beat you there

The bastard lies in bed now Half sad his wife is dead now She drowned herself in the swamp In wild despair He thinks he used to love her But push, it came to shove her A wife disposed A life case closed And no one seems to care To grieve Luanne

Now no one's on his shoulder But his mattress don't feel colder In fact it's hellish hot And the air is dank and steaming Yet his body starts to shiver When the window cracks a sliver And a fiery fog from the miry bog Pours in the room in a sticky gloom And there the man sees dead Luanne He's terrified But he keeps his pride Cause he know that he ain't dreaming And he starts screaming

"Leave, Luanne! Hell sent y'all back here for more 'Cause ain't no one ever loved you!" But said Luanne "I come to settle a score," And she shows him her feet are bound in chains And loyal Luanne Remains And remains And remains And remains!

Someone's Howling Screams like sighing With battered breath (o-o-oh!) Grating Growling Never dying In a fate worse than death!

Luanne, she cries her miserable wail So the bastards will never sleep again No—no reprieve, Luanne She brings their souls down to hell A caution to the cruelest of men (a caution to the cruelest of)— God loves Luanne! Praise be! Amen!