Man in the long black coat

Crickets are chirpin'
the water is high
there's a soft cotton dress
on the line hangin' dry
the window's wide open, African trees
bent over backwards
from a hurricane breeze

Not a word of goodbye, not even a note
she gone with the man in the long black coat

Somebody's singin', hangin' around
at the old dancehall on the outskirts of town
he looked into her eyes when she stopped him to ask
if he wanted to dance
he had a face like a mask

Sombody 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 mans conscience is vile and depraved
you cannot depend on it to be your guide
when it's you who must
keep it satisfied

It aint 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 could see it that way
Well, people don't live or die, people just float
she went with the man in the long black coat

There is smoke on the water, it's a-been there since june
tree trunks uprooted 'neath the high crescent moon
feel the pulse and vibration and the rumblin' force
somebody's out there
beating on a dead horse

She never said nothin', there was nothin' she wrote
she just gone with the man in the long black coat