[Verse 1]
In the alleys where the light don’t fall,
On a moonless night down by Jackson’s wall,
They say the shadows learn to dance and crawl,
Moving slow, pulling life through the cracks in the sprawl.
Whispers drift down the broken stones,
Mix with echoes, the street’s quiet groans,
A city alive with its haunted bones,
But there’s somethin’ here now that don’t come alone.
[Chorus]
There’s shadows on St. Ann, movin’ like a ghost parade,
You can feel them pullin’, tugging on the light that fades.
They come in close, they know your name,
They’ll drag you in with no one to blame.
[Verse 2]
Under streetlamps burned out long ago,
Where jazz once poured from a saxophone glow,
The night’s grown heavy, and the lights hang low,
While shadows grow deep, and nobody knows.
There’s a story here, from old New Orleans,
About shadows that drink the dark unseen,
Slipping down like an endless dream,
Swallowin’ the souls lost in the street’s dark gleam.
[Chorus]
Yeah, shadows on St. Ann, swayin’ like a voodoo hymn,
Taking life with a rhythm slow and dim.
They reach out long, black as the bayou’s own,
They’ll dance you away ‘til you’re skin and bone.
[Bridge]
But don’t look back when you feel that chill,
Or you might find you’ve lost your will.
They don’t chase, they wait and grin,
Watchin’ the shadows pull you in.
[Verse 3]
By dawn’s first light, they fade away,
Leaving empty streets and shades of gray.
And every soul they took to stay,
Now drifts as part of their ghostly play.
Some say the city breathes them in,
Takin’ souls just as they begin.
Others laugh, say it’s all pretend,
But those who’ve seen ‘em know it’s the end.
[Outro Chorus]
There’s shadows on St. Ann, hummin’ a dark refrain,
You can run, but they know you’ll come again.
They’re waitin’ there, where the light grows thin,
With a groove so deep it’ll draw you in.
