Charlene, Charlene
Your laugh was undeniable, Charlene
But you were unreliable
Like the weather in the fall
And when the leaves go golden
I don't think of you at all
This ain't about your laugh
Or how you'd throw your head back freely
When you gave most of you to me, Charlene

Charlene, Charlene
There's a southern contradiction
At your core
Your daddy raised tobacco
And your daddy praised the Lord
He'd take your breath away from you
Exhaling Jesus' name
The nights that he would whisper
In your ear and through your shame
Cigarettes and crucifixes all became the same
Or so it seemed, Charlene

Charlene, Charlene
There's a whiskey lipstick paper cup
You never threw away
You were never one to waste
What could be used another day
You knew it was no overdose
You took just what you needed
"A job well done just once" you said
"Should never be repeated
Not for free" you said to me, Charlene

Charlene, Charlene
They couldn't find your pulse
Or self esteem
They shouted "Clear" but you had left them
Like the frantic third-place team
They left their rubber gloves like you were
Coming back to clean
That's something you would do
So you could tell your friends in heaven
How you made it on the scene, Charlene

Charlene, Charlene
Your laugh was undeniable, Charlene
But you were unreliable
Like the weather in the fall
And when the leaves go golden
I don't think of you at all
This ain't about your laugh
Or how you'd throw your head back freely
When you gave most of you to me,Charlene