[Intro – Wind + Floorboards Creaking]
[Dogs barking far away]
Every Louisiana family got one warning…
[Thunder cracks violently]
Beware of the Shadow Man.
[Low bass pulse enters]
‘Cause if he appear to you…
somethin’ inside you already rotten.
⸻
[Verse 1]
🎶
Shadow Man stand where the cypress lean,
Tall black silhouette in the moonlit steam.
No face.
No eyes.
Just hat brim low,
Like midnight itself learned how to stroll.
Mon Dieu, the swamp got quiet when he near,
Even the crickets disappear.
Old women lock doors when thunder roll,
Kids stop playin’ once the wind turn cold.
Grandmère said:
“Cher, don’t entertain darkness.”
Said:
“Some spirits feed off arrogance.”
Now I move through success more carefully,
‘Cause power make the soul hungry.
Gold teeth gleam in the mirror glass,
For one split second—
I swear he looked back.
🎶
⸻
[Hook – Choir + Heavy Drums]
🎶
Beware of the Shadow Man tonight…
Black hat drift beneath moonlight.
Beware of the Shadow Man still…
He know every secret you conceal.
🎶
⸻
[Verse 2]
🎶
I seen hustlers get rich then lose they mind,
Seen preachers fall from pride.
Seen beautiful women grow emotionally hollow,
Chasin’ luxury through sorrow.
That’s when the Shadow Man appear they say,
Not to kill—
just to make you face yourself.
And that’s scarier.
Flow got graveyard humidity tonight,
Every bar feel spiritually alive.
I got swamp intuition in my bloodstream,
That’s why my nightmares too specific.
Shorty from Plaquemine grabbed my wrist,
Whispered:
“Cher… don’t let him in.”
I laughed nervous then poured more bourbon,
Like liquor could blur premonitions.
🎶
⸻
[Bridge – Spoken + Organ]
The Shadow Man don’t chase innocent people.
He visit the ones:
lyin’ to themselves.
🎶
Black smoke rise through the bayou trees…
Every hidden sin feel seen.
🎶
⸻
[Verse 3]
🎶
One night I saw him near the levee wall,
Tall as grief beneath the fog.
Didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
Just watched.
And somehow…
that felt worse.
Because in that silence—
I realized something terrifying:
the Shadow Man knew my real name.
Knew every fake smile.
Every hidden fear.
Every wound I glamorized.
Every darkness I fed.
And when the thunder cracked above the swamp—
he tipped his hat slowly…
like he recognized me.
🎶
⸻
[Final Hook – Full Orchestra + Choir Explosion]
🎶
Beware of the Shadow Man tonight…
Black soul drift beneath moonlight.
Beware of the Shadow Man remain…
Louisiana know his name.
🎶
⸻
[Outro – Wind + Footsteps]
[Footsteps slowly approaching through water]
The scariest thing about the Shadow Man…
[Long pause]
is realizing…
he only appear when you becoming him.
