Papa Won't Leave You, Henry

Lyrics for Papa Won't Leave You, Henry

I went out walking the other day The wind hung wet around my neck My head it rung with screams and groans From the night I spent amongst her bones I passed beside the mission house Where that mad old buzzard, the reverend, Shrieked and flapped about life after your dead Well, I thought about my friend, Michel How they rolled him in linoleum And shot him in the neck A bloody halo, like a think-bubble Circling his head And I bellowed at the firmament Looks like the rains are hear to stay And the rain pissed down upon me And washed me all away Saying Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Well, the road is long And the road is hard And many fall by the side But Papa won't leave you, Henry So there ain't no need to cry And I went on down the road He went on down the road And I went on down the road He went on down the road Well, the moon it looked exhausted Like something you should pity Spent an age-spotted Above the sizzling wires of the city Well, it reminded me of her face Her bleached and hungry eyes Her hair was like a curtain Falling open with the laughter And closing with the lies But the ghost of her still lingers on Though she's passed through me And is gone The slum dogs, they are barking And the rain children on the streets And the tears that we will weep today Will all be washed away By the tears that we will weep again tomorrow Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy For the road is long And the road is hard And many fall by the side But Papa won't leave you, Henry So there ain't no need to cry And I went on down the road He went on down the road And I went on down the road He went on down the road And I came upon a little house A little house upon a hill And I entered through, the curtain hissed Into the house with its blood-red bowels Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists Crawled the ceilings and the walls They filled me full of drink And led me round the rooms Naked and cold and grinning Until everything went black And I came down spinning I awoke so drunk and full of rage That I could hardly speak A fag in a whale-bone corset Draping his dick across my cheek And its into the shame And its into a guilt And its into the fucking fray And the walls ran red around me A warm arterial spray Saying Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Well, the night is dark And the night is deep And its jaws are open wide But Papa won't leave you, Henry So there ain't no need to cry And I went on down the road He went on down the road And I went on down the road He went on down the road It's the rainy season where I'm living Death comes leaping out of every doorway Wasting you for money, for your clothes And for your nothing Entire towns being washed away Favelas exploding on inflammable spillways Lynch-mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains The mad heat and the relentless rains And if you stick your arm into that hole It comes out sheared off to the bone And with her kisses bubbling on my lips I swiped the rain and nearly missed And I went on down the road He went on down the road Singing Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Well, the road is long And the road is hard And many fall by the side But Papa won't leave you, Henry So there ain't no need to cry And I went on down the road He went on down the road And I went on down the road He went on down the road Bent Beneath my heavy load Under his heavy load Yeah, I went on down the road Yeah, he went on down the road