Baton Rouge - Lou Reed: Song Lyrics, Music Videos & Concerts

Baton Rouge

808

Pop

Baton Rouge was released on January 1, 2000 by Rhino/Warner Records as a part of the album Ecstasy

Song Details

Release DateJanuary 1, 2000

LabelRhino/Warner Records

LanguageEnglish

Melodicness

Acousticness

Valence

Danceability

Energy

BPM102

OVERVIEW

LYRICS

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS

Lou Reed

Vocals, Guitar, Lead Vocals

Fernando Saunders

Fernando Saunders

Bass, Background Vocals

Tony Thunder Smith

Tony Thunder Smith

Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals

Doug Wieselman

Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone

Jane Scarpantoni

Jane Scarpantoni

Cello

Mike Rathke

Guitar

Paul Shapiro

Tenor Saxophone

Steven Bernstein

Steven Bernstein

Trumpet

COMPOSITION & LYRICS

Lou Reed

Songwriter, Composer, Lyrics

PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING

Lou Reed

Producer

Ben Holt

Assistant Engineer

Dave Fisher

Assistant Engineer

Tim Latham

Mixing Engineer

Hal Willner

Producer

Lyrics

[Verse 1]

When I think of you, Baton Rouge

I think of a mariachi band

I think of sixteen and a crisp green football field

I think of the girl I never had

When I think of you, Baton Rouge

I think of a backseat in a car

Windows are foggy and so are we

As the police asked for our ID

[Verse 2]

So helpless

So helpless

Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh

So helpless

Ooh-ooh-ooh

So helpless

Ooh-ooh-ooh

So helpless

So helpless

[Verse 3]

Well, I once had a car, lost it in a divorce

The judge was a woman, of course

She said, "Give her the car and the house

And your taste

Or else I set the trial date"

So now when I think of you, Baton Rouge

And the deep Southern belles with their touch

I wonder where love ends and hate starts to blush

In the fields, in the swamps, in the rush

In the terracotta cobwebs of your mind

When did you start seein' me as a spider spinning web?

Of malicious intent and you as poor, poor me

At the fire at the joint

This disintated and broken mount

In the bedroom in the house where we were unmarried

[Verse 4]

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

[Verse 5]

When was I the villain in your heart?

Putting the brake on your start

You slapped my face and cried and screamed

That's what marriage came to mean

The bitterest ending of a dream

You wanted children and I did not

Was that what it was all about?

You might get a laugh when you hear me shout

You might get a laugh when you hear me shout

I wish I had

[Verse 6]

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

[Verse 7]

Sometimes when I think of Baton Rouge

I see us with two and a half strapping sons

One and a half flushed daughters preparing to marry

And two fat grandsons I can barely carry

Daddy, uncle, family gathered there for grace

A dog in a barbecue pit goes up in space

The dream recedes in the morning with a bad aftertaste

And I'm back in the big city worn

From the race of the chase, what a waste

So thanks for the card, the announcement of child

And I must say you and Sam look great

Your daughter's gleaming in that white wedding dress with pride

Sad to say I could never bring that to you, that wide smile

[Verse 8]

So I try not to think of Baton Rouge

Or of a, of a, of a mariachi band

Or of sixteen and a crisp green football field

And the girl, and the girl I never ha-ha-ha-had

[Verse 9]

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

So helpless

Written by: Lou Reed

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