| Marie Lavaux | |
| Cover: | Marie_Laveau_-_Bobby_Bare.jpg |
| Alt: | Marie Lavaux is the real name of the song. |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Bobby Bare |
| Album: | Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies |
| B-Side: | The Mermaid |
| Released: | April 1974 |
| Genre: | Country |
| Length: | 3:09 |
| Label: | RCA Nashville |
| Producer: | Bobby Bare |
| Prev Title: | Daddy, What If |
| Prev Year: | 1974 |
| Next Title: | Where'd I Come From |
| Next Year: | 1974 |
"Marie Lavaux" is a song written by Shel Silverstein and Baxter Taylor. First recorded by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show on their 1971 album Doctor Hook, a 1974 live recording by Bobby Bare went to number one for a single week and spent a total of 18 weeks on the country charts. It was his 34th single on the charts, his only number one and final top ten country hit.[1]
The song is about a fictitious and ugly witch who lived in the Louisiana bayous in a hollow log with a one-eyed snake and a three-legged dog, having the same name as the famous New Orleans voodoo priestess, and who, armed with a magic black cat tooth and mojo bone, could make men disappear with a horrific screech. On the night of a new moon, "Handsome Jack" arrives and offers her a deal: if she conjures up $1,000,000 for him, he will marry her. After he receives the money, he backs out of the deal claiming that she is too ugly for a rich man like him; in retaliation, she screeches and Jack disappears.
Other recorded versions are by Girl Trouble on their album Thrillsphere (1990) and The Blue Dogs on Music for Dog People (1991).
| Chart (1974) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 | |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |