somebody's shadow

i've seen her in the street light once

all edgy

black and white

a flash of incandescence

shape shifting in the night

i spied her in a clearing

out beyond the switching yard

i've seen her in a fever dream

and the empress tarot card

on every crooked sidewalk

i've ever stumbled down

where all roads lead to nowhere

on the other side of town

she's leaning on a lamp post

or slumped against the wall

sneaking down the alley

behind the billiard hall

there in a cafe window

a figure so forlorn

she's making me the enemy of every oath i've sworn

has anybody seen her now?

pray tell me what you hear

'cause i just can't get over

how she shed me like a tear

somebody's shadow

is pullin' out the stops

somebody's shadow

probably oughta call the cops

somebody's shadow

is sneakin' up behind

somebody's shadow

made a madhouse of my mind

a perfumed apparition

out there fading into black

somebody's shadow

like a neon heart attack

she's lipstick on the pall mall butt

in an ashtray by the bed

wine glass in the bathroom sink

and a porch light flaming red

her eyes are cornsilk vapors

and her hair's like oil drum fire

the hoot owls in the belfrey

back-announce her heart's desire

is anybody out there now

and can you hear my voice?

the moondance on the rooftop

is the phantom lady's choice

somebody's shadow

is making me a wreck

somebody's shadow

like a noose around my neck

somebody's shadow

is making me a slave

somebody's shadow

is digging me my grave

this paradise called yesterday

is what i miss the most

'cause somebody's shadow

still haunts me like a ghost