[Intro: a doorbell, one dark Rhodes chord, a slow heavy kick] [Hook: smooth low male, whispered doubles on the parentheses] Say come in (come in). Two little words, and that's the key One night a year, every damn door swings open for anything with teeth Kids in plastic fangs on the steps, and they love my costume. Sweet Say come in (come in). It don't expire. Now you live with me [Verse 1: slow, polite, menacing] Three hundred sixty-four nights, I stand where your porch light quits on the grass Close enough to smell the pot roast, close enough to fog the glass Your dog knows. Dogs always know. He barks at the hedge where I wait You yell at him, "Hush, it's a cat." And I tip my hat at the gate A doorway burns me like a stove till the one with the mortgage says the word Older than your street, older than your steeple, only rule that ever worked [Hook] Say come in (come in). Two little words, and that's the key One night a year, every damn door swings open for anything with teeth Kids in plastic fangs on the steps, and they love my costume. Sweet Say come in (come in). It don't expire. Now you live with me [Verse 2: lower, closer] I don't wear a costume. Gray suit, old shoes, and the face I been wearin' since kings Dad in a pirate hat said, "Great teeth, man, where'd you get 'em?" I said, "Family things" [Flow switch: whispered double-time, walkin' the block] Pumpkin, porch light, candle, a skeleton, a dad in a sheet with the eyeholes cut wide Princess, pirate, werewolf, me, and nobody checks if I'm castin' a shadow outside Little girl in a cape just like mine lost her group and her bag by the curb Took her hand, walked her home to Fourteen Larkspur, slow, and I never said a word [Spoken bridge: low and close, just the Rhodes] You thought it was the garlic. The crosses. The mirror. No, darlin'. It was always manners. You just stopped askin' who's at the door. [Beat Switch: a doorbell, then the slow drums slam back twice as heavy] Porch light on, her mama in the door in a sweater, phone in her hand, eyes red "Oh my God, thank you, thank you. It's freezin'. Come in, come in," she said And I stood on the mat for a second, so she'd say it one more time Then I wiped my feet like a gentleman, and the doorway didn't burn. It's mine [Verse 3: slow, almost tender] See, a "come in" don't come with a "go." That's the part nobody tells you at the door I'll be back tomorrow night, and the night after that, and the night after that, and more [Final Hook: whispered, Rhodes alone on the last line] Say come in (come in). Two little words, and that's the key One night a year, every damn door swings open for anything with teeth Kids in plastic fangs on the steps, and they love my costume. Sweet Say come in (come in). It don't expire. Now you live with me [Outro: the door closes slow, one Rhodes chord, cut] [End]
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