Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry Songtext
von Nick Cave

I went out walking the other day
The heat hung wet around my neck
My head it rung with screams and groans
From the night I spent amongst her bones

And I past beside the mission house
Where that mad old buzzard, the reverend
Shrieked and flapped
About life after you′re dead

Well, I thought about my friend, Michel
How they rolled him in linoleum
And they 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
And her bleached and hungry eyes
Her hair was like a curtain
Falling open with the laughter

And closing with the lies
And the ghost of her still lingers on
Though she's passed through me
And is gone


Well, the slum dogs, they are barking
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
We′ll 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, 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
Oh, yeah, 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 and the curtain hissed

Into the house with its blood-red bowels

Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists
Crawled the ceilings and the walls
And they filled me full of drink
And they 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

Well it′s into the shame
And it′s into a guilt
And it's 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
Well 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
Oh, yeah, 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 your money, for your clothes
And for your nothing

Entire towns being washed away
Favelas exploding on inflammable spillways
And the lynch-mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains
The mad heat and the relentless rains

Well, 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 I nearly missed

And then I went on down the road
He went on down the road

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
Oh, yeah, 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 that road
He went on down the road

And I went on down that road