crickets are chirpin'
the water is high
there's a soft cotton dress on the line hangin' dry
window wide open
african trees
bent over backwards from a hurricane breeze. not a word of goodbye
note even a note
she gone with the man
in the long black coat. somebody seen him hanging around
at the old dance hall on the outskirts of town
he looked into her eyes when she stopped to ask
if he wanted to dance
he had a face like a mask. somebody said from the bible he'd quote
there was dust on the man
in the long black coat. preacher was a talkin' there's a sermon he gave
he said every man's conscience is vile and depraved
you cannot depend on it to be your guide
when it's you who must keep it satisfied. it ain't easy to swallow
it sticks in the throat
she gave her heart to the man
in the long black coat. there are no mistakes in life some people say
it is true sometimes you can see it that way. bridge: but people don't live or die
people just float. she went with the man
in the long black coat. there's smoke on the water
it's been there since june
tree trunks uprooted
'neath the high crescent moon
feel the pulse and vibration and the rumbling force
somebody is out there beating the dead horse. she never said nothing there was nothing she wrote
she gone with the man
in the long black coat.