Marie and He
by Lennie Gallant

Marie and he, they lived down by the shore
I lived alone in a house they called next door
A quarter mile farther down the road from there
But it was close enough that I could always hear

Marie was only twenty-two, with three kids
Big sea-green eyes, but then they were mostly hid
Dark glasses covering all the damage he'd done
After his nights out on the rum

In the nearby town, everyone knew the score
From whispered stories traded down at the store
They could pretend they'd never seen `neath the shades
But every night I'd hear her meet his rage

We always played together, when we were young
They called her my sister though I never had one
I thought our time together would never end
But she was much sought after then

I remember the day he first sailed into town
I watched him watching her as she walked around
I felt as though a lifetime slipped through my hands
As Marie and he walked on the sands

But then the sands all washed away, leaving rocks
And he beat her and blamed her for his lousy job on the docks
No friends or money; he'd just rave about the sea
And tell his lies of how she wouldn't set him free

(chorus)

Last night I walked down the road by the shore
I just couldn't bear to hear her take it anymore
I waited for him to come staggering home
And I sent his body back to sea alone

(chorus)