Lost Gem: "Hitting You" - Loudon Wainwright III (1992)


"All we do is argue
like two people 
who are through."
~ Loudon Wainwright III ~


North Carolinian...Loudon Wainwright III...may bring to mind his novelty song..."Dead Skunk"(1972) or his bit part playing Captain Spalding on TV's "Mash"(1975).

But this singer/songwriter has been crafting songs forever.


I haven't followed this tongue-wagging troubadour too closely over the seasons...however, 1992 saw him release "History".  Considered his masterpiece...he purges the past very close to the bone...never soft-soaping the ugly parts.

"History" is a absolutely must-own!

Lost Gem:--> "Hitting You"...is as honest a confession as you'll likely to hear.  Painful and heartbreaking in the understanding...that there are seldom, if ever, any take-backs or do-overs......................not really.

Have you heard this gem? (start at 2:28)


Long ago i hit you
we were in the car
you were crazy in the back seat
it had gone too far
and i pulled the auto over
and i hit you with all my might
i knew right away it was too hard and i'd never make it right

I was aiming for your buttock
but i struck your outer thigh
you had on a bathing suit
and right before our eyes
suntanned skin turned crimson
where the hand had hit
and my palm stung from hitting you so hard that i hurt it

Against the law in sweden
charges can be filed
here it's all too common
a parent hits a child

On your face i saw the shock
and then i saw the pain
then i saw the look of fear
the fear i'd strike again
then i saw your anger
your defiant pride
and then i saw one tear drop
the rest you kept inside

I said i was sorry and i tried to clean the slate
but with that blow i'd sewn a seed
and saw it was too late

These days things are awful
between me and you
all we do is argue like
two people who are through
i blame you, your friends, your school, your mother and mtv
last night i almost hit you that blame belongs to me

Long ago i hit you
we were in the car
you were crazy in the back seat
it had gone too far
and i pulled the auto over
and i hit you with all my might
i knew right away it was too hard
and i'd never make it right.

Good stuff!

Casey Chambers
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