The Swamp Witch

[Verse 1] Spanish moss curtain Hanging like a threat Boots sink deeper Air tastes like regret Old man at the gas pump spat in his can Said “Girl Don’t let that water grab your hand” Gators in the glare of a rusted-out sign Bullet holes spelling out “turn back time” But I kept driving past the cypress knees Heard a voice in the cattails calling me [Chorus] They say the Swamp Witch Bay Sirius Tracks every fool who walks in curious She’ll braid your fear into your hair Mark your soul Keep you there Don’t go down where the black water pitches Or you’ll belong to the Swamp Witch Bay Sirius [Verse 2] Lantern on a pirogue Floating like an eye Fireflies circling Painting up the sky Saw her in the shimmer where the river bends Dress made of shadows Crowned in pelican feathers and sins She said “Child I’m the story they blame on the dark I’m the mouth of the Basin I’m the teeth in the marsh Every body lost here just wanted one more thrill Every warning whispered? That was me Not the kill” [Chorus] They say the Swamp Witch Bay Sirius Tracks every fool who walks in curious She’ll braid your fear into your hair Mark your soul Keep you there Don’t go down where the black water pitches Or you’ll belong to the Swamp Witch Bay Sirius [Bridge] [Band drops to drums and low guitar drone] Is she curse Is she mercy? Is she ghost Is she guide? (oh) Every cross on the bank line Someone laughed at her side I turned back Heart beating like a drum in my chest Heard her whisper “Run home Girl And let me haunt the rest” [Chorus] They say the Swamp Witch Bay Sirius Tracks every fool who walks in curious She’ll braid your fear into your hair Mark your soul Keep you there Don’t go down where the black water pitches Or you’ll belong to the Swamp Witch Bay Sirius [Outro] Moss in the mirror Mud on my shoes I left that Basin But it never left you Tell your kids that story when the sky turns bluish ’Bout the Swamp Witch Bay Sirius