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LOUISIANA RAIN Lyrics

Artist: Tom Petty
Album: Damn The Torpedoes

Well it was out in California by the San Diego sea
That was when I was taken in and it left its mark on me
Yeah she nearly drove me crazy with all those China toys
And I know she really didn't mean a thing to any of those sailor boys

Louisiana rain is falling at my feet
Baby I'm noticing the change as I move down the street
Louisiana rain is soaking through my shoes
I may never be the same when I reach Baton Rouge

South Carolina put out its arms for me
Right up until everything went black somewhere on Lonely Street
And I still can't quite remember who helped me to my feet
Thank God for a love that followed the angel's remedy

Louisiana rain is falling just like tears
Running down my face, washing out the years
Louisiana rain is soaking through my shoes
I may never be the same when I reach Baton Rouge

Well I never will get over this English refugee
Singing to the jukebox in some all-night beanery
Yeah he was eating pills like candy and chasing them with tea
You should have seen him lick his lips, that old black muddied beak

Louisiana rain is falling at my feet
Baby I'm noticing the change as I move down the street
Louisian rain is soaking through my shoes
I may never be the same when I reach Baton Rouge

Louisiana rain is falling just like tears
Running down my face, washing out the years
Louisiana rain is soaking through my shoes
I may never be the same when I reach Baton Rouge

Comments/Interpretations

by David on 4/29/2012 8:24pm
A couple of errors. In the 4th line of the second verse, it's "thank god for a long-neck bottle, the angel's remedy." And in the fourth line of the third verse it's "that old black Molly B."

by Erik on 5/25/2012 10:40am
In the live version appearing on the Live Anthology, the third and fourth lines of the second verse are "It was just some mean ol' poison, that I took up my nose; thank god for a long-neck bottle, the angel's antidote."

by J on 1/4/2013 1:19pm
Actually, last line of the third verse should be "You should have seen him lick his lips at that old black maitre d'." (French for waiter.)

by Gainesville Phil on 10/29/2013 2:13pm
Erik is right.

by Jim Bridgewood on 1/28/2014 11:59am
I love this, Nobody writes like tom.
One day I hope to write a song like this.

by Ivan on 10/13/2017 12:00pm
What is Molly B.?

by Lacy on 12/25/2018 2:44pm
Black Molly B would fit with the line “eating pills like candy” mote than a muddled beak or a matre d.

by Pavel on 8/20/2019 11:37am
"Black Molly" is a black capsule containing amphetamine ("uppers," stimulants). I don't have a clue what the "B" in "Black Molly B" signifies, though.

by Pavel on 8/20/2019 11:44am
Also, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be "old black maitre d'." A maitre d' is not a waiter; he's the "maitre d'hotel" ("master of the house"), who meets you at the door, assigns you to a table and a waiter, oversees the whole front-of-house operation. An "all night beanery" would not be high-class enough to have or need a maitre d' -- just a couple of waitresses (probably women) behind the counter.

by Pavel on 8/20/2019 11:47am
And while I'll take Erik's word for what happens on the Live Anthology, if you listen to the song on "Damn the Torpedoes," Petty quite clearly pronounces the "v" in "love" and the "ll" in "followed," so there it's "love that followed the angels' remedy," which makes sense in connection with being "helped...to my feet" after "things went black."

by Pavel on 8/20/2019 11:51am
(One more comment then I'll stop) -- I see that the live version was recorded in 1982, 3 years after "Damn the Torpedoes." Maybe Petty had heard the mondegreened (misunderstood) version about the "long neck bottles" and decided to just sing it that way as a joke at the '82 concert?