Tom Waits
Lyric guide

Hell Broke Luce

Read Hell Broke Luce lyrics by Tom Waits on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

Tom Waits visibility2 visits Video on page
person Curated by Ethan Walker LyroVerse team
Reference snapshot

The page facts to cite before the commentary

Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.

Page type: lyric reference Artist: Tom Waits Canonical path: /tom-waits/hell-broke-luce Related lyric paths: 6 Video embedded: yes
Lyrics

Hell Broke Luce

The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.

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

And 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

And 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 stance was a chin full of soap

That rancid dinner with the Pope

And left, right, left

Kelly Presutto got his thumbs blown off

Sergio's developing a real bad cough

Sergio's developing a real bad cough

And 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 him a beautiful parade instead

And 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?

Quick answers

What this page can answer fast

Who performs "Hell Broke Luce"?

Tom Waits performs "Hell Broke Luce", and this lyric page sits inside the Tom Waits catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "Hell Broke Luce"?

Yes. The related section below points to Drunk On The Moon and Starving In The Belly Of A Whale with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Tom Waits?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Tom Waits's lyric pages.

Song Room

Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song

Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.

Open Song Room
0 followers Selected insights only surface after moderation
Listener comments

What people are saying

0 comments
Add a short interpretation or memory

A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.

Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.

No listener comments on Hell Broke Luce yet.