Well the South side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man named Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand about six foot four
All those downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
All the men just call him "Sir"

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
In front of everybody's nose
He got a custom Continental
He got a Eldorado too
He got a thirty two gun in his pocket for fun
He got a razor in his shoe

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named a Doris
And ooh that girl looked nice
Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown he learned a lesson
'Bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Yeah, he was badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog


Lyrics submitted by kevin

Bad Bad Leroy Brown Lyrics as written by James Croce

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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Bad, Bad Leroy Brown song meanings
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11 Comments

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    General Comment

    To me he just seemed like he thought he was a badass and someone put him in his place. I don't see were it says it was a smaller guy, but I guess if you're a smaller guy this would be an empowering song for you.

    kmk_natashaon December 07, 2005   Link

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