Papa Won't Leave You Henry
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Lyrics

I went out walking the other day
The singer went for a stroll recently

The heat hung wet around my neck
It was hot and humid outside

My head it rung with screams and groans
The singer had disturbing thoughts on their mind

From the night I spent amongst her bones
The artist had spent time in a place surrounded by death and decay

And I passed beside the mission house
The artist went by a religious building

Where that mad old buzzard, the reverend
The preacher at the church was strange and off-putting

Shrieked and flapped about life after you're dead
The preacher talked excitedly about the afterlife

Well, I thought about my friend, Michel
The artist reflected on a now-deceased friend, Michel

How they rolled him in linoleum
Michel's body was wrapped in a flooring material

And they shot him in the neck
Michel was killed by gunshot

A bloody halo, like a think-bubble
There was a mess around Michel's head that looked like a comic book thought bubble

Circling his head
This mess was situated around Michel's head

And I bellowed at the firmament
The singer cried out to the sky

Looks like the rains are here to stay
It seemed like the rainy season had arrived

And the rain pissed down upon me
It rained heavily on the singer

And washed me all away
The rain had a profound effect on the artist, perhaps cleansing or dispiriting them

Papa won't leave you, Henry
The artist assures someone named Henry that their father will always be there for them

Papa won't leave you, Boy
The singer repeats this assurance, using a nickname for Henry

Well, the road is long
The journey ahead is arduous

And the road is hard
The road will not be easy

And many fall by the side
Some people succumb to the difficulties of the journey

But Papa won't leave you, Henry
Despite the challenges, Henry will have his father's unwavering support

So there ain't no need to cry
There's no reason for Henry to worry or be upset

And I went on down the road
The artist continued on their journey

He went on down the road
Henry did the same

Oh yeah, I went on down the road
The singer emphasizes that they kept moving

Well, the moon it looked exhausted
The moon appeared tired

Like something you should pity
The moon evoked sympathy in the artist

Spent an age-spotted
The moon was marked by age

Above the sizzling wires of the city
The city was bustling with activity and technology

Well, it reminded me of her face
The singer was reminded of a woman's appearance

Her bleached and hungry eyes
The woman had unnaturally light-colored and piercing eyes

Her hair was like a curtain
The woman's hair was long and draping

Falling open with the laughter
Her hair moved as she laughed

And closing with the lies
It settled back down once she stopped

And the ghost of her still lingers on
The artist cannot shake this woman's memory

Though she's passed through me
The woman is no longer in the singer's life

And is gone
She has moved on

Well the slum dogs, they are barking
Dogs in the slums were making noise

The rain children on the streets
Children out in the rain were also making a racket

And the tears that we will weep today
The immediate sadness we feel

Will all be washed away
Will eventually be overcome by something else

By the tears that we will weep
More emotions to come

Will weep again tomorrow
More sorrow awaits us in the future

For the road is long
The journey will continue

And I came upon a little house
The artist encountered a small dwelling

A little house upon a hill
It was situated high up

And I entered through, and the curtain hissed
The artist went inside, and the curtain moved

Into the house with its blood-red bowels
The house had a stomach-like appearance and a red color scheme

Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists
There were women inside with slick lips and dirty hands

Crawled the ceilings and the walls
These women were doing strange and unsettling things

They filled me full of drink
They gave the artist alcohol

And they led me round the rooms
They showed the artist around the house

Naked and cold and grinning
The singer was vulnerable and uncomfortable

Until everything went black
The singer blacked out

And I came down spinning
The artist was disoriented upon regaining consciousness

I awoke so drunk and full of rage
The artist woke up feeling an intense mixture of anger and drunkenness

That I could hardly speak
They were almost unable to communicate

A fag in a whale-bone corset
A man wearing a tight corset made of whalebone

Draping his dick across my cheek
This man had his genitals inappropriately exposed to the artist

Well its into the shame
The singer is ashamed to recount this experience

And its into the guilt
They also feel guilty

And its into the fucking fray
They're in the midst of a difficult situation

And the walls ran red around me
The surroundings turned bloody

A warm arterial spray
Blood sprayed around the artist

Well, the night is dark
The darkness conveys fear

And the night is deep
It's an intense and overwhelming time

And its jaws are open wide
The danger feels like it's right there

Yeah, well Papa won't leave you, Henry
The artist repeats their promise of support to Henry

Yeah, woah, woah
The song transitions to a new section

It's the rainy season where I'm living
The singer seems to be in a different place than before, and it's rainy there

Death comes leaping out of every doorway
The artist feels threatened in this place

Wasting you for money, for your clothes
The dangers here are motivated by greed

And for your nothing
People will harm you for no reason

Entire towns being washed away
Flash floods are destroying towns

Favelas exploding on inflammable spillways
Shanty towns are being damaged by harmful substances

Lynch-mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains
Violence and tragedy are rampant here, including severely disturbing situations like babies being born with a birth defect that sounds like anencephaly

The mad heat and the relentless rains
The weather is dangerous and unpredictable

Well if you stick your arm into that hole
The singer seems to be giving some sort of advice or warning

It comes out shit up to the bone
There will be unpleasant consequences for doing this

And with her kisses bubbling on my lips
The artist thinks back to kissing someone

I swiped the rain and nearly missed
They made a motion to move the rain out of their face, but it almost didn't work

And then I went on down the road
The singer continues moving forward

He went on down that road
Henry does too

Bent beneath my heavy load
The journey is weighing down on the singer

Under his heavy load
It's also a struggle for Henry

Yeah, I went on down that road
The song ends the way it began, with the singer emphasizing their movement