Lady in Noir

[Verse 1]
She came in through the side door
Left the daylight with the rain
Hat brim hiding half her face
Like she’d already seen the end of things
Black lace on a pale wrist
Cigarette that smoked too slow
Every step across those warped boards
Made the old room groan
[Chorus]
They call her the Lady in Noir
Drinks her bourbon in the back
Near the scars on the wall
If she looks you in the eyes
You remember every name that you buried inside
Lady in Noir
Where you walk
All the candles burn cold
You don’t talk about the past
But the shadows do what they’re told (mm-hmm)
[Verse 2]
She laughed at my cheap suit
Said
“You sing like you stole time”
Then she traced a circle on my palm
Found the part of me that tried to hide
She hummed an old hymn sideways
Bent the notes until they cried
And every picture on the cracked bar mirror
Turned its face aside
[Chorus]
They call her the Lady in Noir
Drinks her bourbon in the back
Near the scars on the wall
If she looks you in the eyes
You remember every name that you buried inside
Lady in Noir
Where you walk
All the candles burn cold
You don’t talk about the past
But the shadows do what they’re told (oh, they’re told)
[Bridge]
[Band drops to a low murmur]
One by one
Voices fade
But her silhouette
Still stays
You can leave this town
You can change your name
She’s the dark between the doorway
You step through her just the same
[Chorus]
They call her the Lady in Noir
Drinks her bourbon in the back
Near the scars on the wall
If she looks you in the eyes
You remember every name that you buried inside
Lady in Noir
You’re the last verse carved in the floor
When the house gives up its ghosts
You’re the one they’re waiting for (mm, Lady in Noir)

Sparse live delta blues trio, female vocals raw and upfront. Fingerpicked resonator guitar in open tuning, brushed snare and a low, moaning harmonica. Verses haunt in a hushed shuffle; chorus swells with gritty belt and ghostly backing hums. Roomy reverb like a small wooden juke joint at midnight, dynamics riding from tense whispers to cracked, eerie cries., delta blues, blues