Lake Marie

Lake Marie - John Prine

We were standing, standing by peaceful waters,

Standing by peaceful waters, Whoa Wa Oh Wy Oh,

Many years ago, along the Illinois/Wisconsin border,

There was this Indian tribe,

They found two babies in the woods, White babies

One of them was named Elizabeth, She was the fairer of the two,

While the smaller and more fragile one was named Marie,

Having never seen white girls before,

And living on the two lakes known as the Twin Lakes,

They named the larger and more beautiful lake, Lake Elizabeth,

And thus, the smaller lake, that was hidden from the highway,

Became known forever as Lake Marie,

Many years later, I found myself talking to this girl,

Who was standing there, with her back turned to Lake Marie,

The wind was blowing, Especially thru her hair,

There was four Italian sausages cooking, on the outdoor grill,

And they was sizzlin',

Many years later, we found ourselves in Canada,

Trying to save our marriage, and perhaps catch a few fish,

Whatever came first.

That night she fell asleep in my arms, humming the tune to,

'Louie, louie', Ahh baby, we gotta go now,

The dogs were barking as the cars were parking,

The loan sharks were sharking, The narcs were narcing,

Practically everyone was there, In the parking lot by the forest preserve,

The police had found two bodies, Nay, naked bodies,

Their faces had been horribly disfigured by some sharp object,

Saw it on the news, the TV News, In a black and white video,

Do you know what blood looks like in a black and white video?

Shadows! Shadows!!! That's what it looks like,

All the love we shared between her and me, was slammed,

Slammed! Up against the banks of old Lake Marie, Marie!!!

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