Just walk away Renee/
You won’t see me follow you back home.

Something in the narrator of “Walk Away Renee” has changed. Or maybe it is something in the world around him that has changed. Yesterday he loved Renee and today he wants her gone. It has nothing to do with Renee, but he knows it’s over. He tells her to walk away, and this time he won’t be following her home.

The narrator is deeply hurt by the decision, as it brings on tears and rain. Was it an illicit love that he finally came to his senses about? We are left to our imagination to fill in the details. Perhaps his tears were just standard tears brought about due to the end of a good relationship.

Before the full strings and the band come in, listen to the single violin in the first verse. In some versions it is so faint it almost sounds like a different instrument. An interesting choice by The Left Banke that gives the song a unique sound.

“Walk Away Renee’s” chorus really drives this song. It is very memorable, and the harmonies’ The Left Banke provide are distinctive. The flute is a great choice for the solo instrument and the strings throughout complete the sound to make a finely produced record. I see potential that someday this receives a great cover version.

Walk Away Renee Lyrics

And when I see the sign that points one way,
The lot we used to pass by every day.

Just walk away Renee!
You won’t see me follow you back home.
The empty sidewalks on my block are not the same.
You’re not to blame.

From deep inside the tears that I’m forced to cry,
From deep inside the pain that I chose to hide.

Just walk away Renee!
You won’t see me follow you back home.
Now as the rain beats down upon my weary eyes,
For me it cries.

Just walk away Renee!
You won’t see me follow you back home.
Now as the rain beats down upon my weary eyes,
For me it cries.

Your name and mine inside a heart upon a wall,
Still finds a way to haunt me, though they’re so small.

Just walk away Renee!
You won’t see me follow you back home.
The empty sidewalks on my block are not the same,
You’re not to blame.

written by Tony Sansone / Bob Calilli / Mike Brown