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Hell Broke Luce Lyrics
I had a good home but I left
I had a good home but I left, right, left
That big fucking bomb made me deaf, deaf
A Humvee mechanic put his Kevlar on wrong
I guarantee you’ll meet up with a suicide bomb
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
Big fucking ditches in the middle of the road
You pay a hundred dollars just for fillin’ in the hole
Listen to the general every goddamn word
How many ways can you polish up a turd
Left, right, left, left, right
Left, right
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
How is it that the only ones responsible for making this mess
Got their sorry asses stapled to a goddamn desk
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
Left, right, left
What did you do before the war?
I was a chef, I was a chef
What was your name?
It was Geoff, Geoff
I lost my buddy and I wept, wept
I come down from the meth
So I slept, slept
I had a good home but I left, left
Pantsed at the wind for a joke
I pranced right in with the dope
Glanced at her shin she said nope
Left, right, left
Nimrod Bodfish have you any wool
Get me another body bag the body bag’s full
My face was scorched, scorched
I miss my home I miss my porch, porch
Left, right, left
Can I go home in March? March
My stanch was a chin full of soap
That rancid dinner with the pope
Left, right, left
Kelly Presutto got his thumbs blown off
Sergio’s developing a real bad cough
Sergio’s developing a real bad cough
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
Boom went his head away
And boom went Valerie
What the hell was it that the president said?
Give 'em all a beautiful parade instead
Left, right, left
When I was over here I never got to vote
I left my arm in my coat
My mom she died and never wrote
We sat by the fire and ate a goat
Just before he died he had a toke
Now I’m home and I’m blind
And I’m broke
What is next
It's about Jeff Lucey, an Iraq vet who hanged himself.
love the song and love the pun
Made an account just for this song, but for those of you wondering about the title and character this song is based on; his name is Jeff Lucey ("What was your name - it was Jeff, Jeff"), a soldier who was haunted and driven to suicide because of the horrors of war.
@JerrBerr i love this song. after i saw the few comments that mentioned Jeff Lucey I found the NPR story where his parents are talking about his last days, devastating. Makes the song that much more intense
@JerrBerr i love this song. after i saw the few comments that mentioned Jeff Lucey I found the NPR story where his parents are talking about his last days, devastating. Makes the song that much more intense
The most addictive song on the album so far. Military March/Blues Stomp/Work Song... and that ferocious growl... quite a combination.
It was said in passing during one of the interviews I read (I think in the NYT article) that Tom claims he took the title from a line of graffiti written on an Alcatraz Prison wall after a riot, but I guess the real question is whether or not "Luce" is the nickname of the character in the song (Something like Geoff Luciano perhaps?). It certainly tells stories of soldiers 'broken' by hellish war experiences so it's plausible.
Just heard this song and it's blown me away. What a graphic, hard hitting picture of the experience of war, post traumatic stress, and all the pysical and mental scars that veterans are left with afterwards. I love the line about how the people "Responsible for making all this mess got their asses stapled to a goddamn desk" Cool video too.
Thums up Riox!!! Just read,all apt comments mindblowing ha, ha
Thums up Riox!!! Just read,all apt comments mindblowing ha, ha
It's so overwhelming, confused, urgent, angry, anxious. Conveys fear - being away from home, your life being in danger and having to rise up and face it, while really just wanting to be home safe. The urgency is so intense. What a song. What a genius.
Perhaps "Luce" might also refer to the old Cold Warrior, Henry Luce, the Father of the "American Century:"
pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/henry-luce/henry-r-luce-and-the-rise-of-the-american-news-media/650/
"hell broke luce" comes from "all hell broke loose", meaning, as already said here, total chaos, or something infernal, uncontrolable. In place of loose, tom waits and kathleen brennan use "luce", and this means lucifer, the devil itself. I guess that's it.
rb
I think it's pretty clear that the song's about the horrors of war. Talking about a man who became a soldier, then was injured and haunted by his service. He sings about the friends who were killed, and the drug addiction after the war that he developed in order to cope with the pain.
as for the title, what I always thought is that the main character of the song is named "Luce"(which is a common surname). It's a pun on "Hell broke loose", but I think it's saying that the War was hell and it broke him as a person.
I particularly like the part "Left, right, left".
I think is a play on words meaning the military thing, and "I left my home, that's right, I left".