THE DEAD DON’T LEAVE AT MIDNIGHT

[Start] [Instrumental Intro] [Male Voice] They shut that nightclub down in 1973. Boarded up the windows. Chained the doors. But every Halloween… At twelve minutes past midnight… Somebody turns the music back on. And brother… You better not be standing outside. [Verse 1] There’s a crooked little building At the end of Mercy Lane, Where the neon sign keeps blinking Through the thunder and the rain. Got an invitation in my mailbox, Written on a funeral card. Said, “Bring your favorite guitar, Come and play the midnight yard.” I could hear a walking bass line Coming through the broken door, And a woman singing something That I’d never heard before. [Female Vocals] Come inside, come inside, We’ve been waiting for you. There’s a dance beneath the darkness, And a little work to do. [Pre-Chorus] [Male Vocals] The lights came on, the floor began to shake, The drummer hit a rhythm that could wake a grave. A thousand empty eyes turned around to see, And the woman at the microphone was smiling straight at me! [Chorus] THE DEAD DON’T LEAVE AT MIDNIGHT! THE DEAD DON’T GO AT DAWN! THEY KEEP THAT DIRTY RHYTHM TILL THE LAST LIGHT’S GONE! [Female Vocals] DANCE WITH THE SHADOWS! LET THE BLACK MOON SHINE! [Male Vocals] WHEN THE GRAVEYARD GETS TO ROCKING, EVERYBODY LOSES TIME! [Instrumental] [Verse 2] There was a skeleton on the bass, With a cigarette and a grin, A werewolf working rhythm guitar, With a coat made out of skin. A mummy sat behind the drums, With a thunder in his hands, And a witch behind a Hammond Was the queen of that haunted band. Then a monster seven feet tall Walked across the stage, With a red-striped electric guitar And a lightning bolt of rage. He looked me in the eye and laughed, Said, “Boy, you came to play? Well, there’s an empty spot beside me, And you ain’t leaving here today!” [Electric Guitar Solo] [Verse 3] I plugged into a Marshall, And the walls began to moan. Every ghost inside that building Started shaking to the bone. The Wolf Man threw a nasty lick, I bent one right back down. Then Frankenstein hit a screaming note That rattled every grave in town. The woman started laughing, And the clock began to spin. Every time we hit the chorus, Another dead man wandered in. [Female Vocals] Keep it moving, keep it moving, Let the thunder roll tonight. There’s a price upon the music, And the morning ain’t the light. [Chorus] THE DEAD DON’T LEAVE AT MIDNIGHT! THE DEAD DON’T GO AT DAWN! THEY KEEP THAT DIRTY RHYTHM TILL THE LAST LIGHT’S GONE! [Female Vocals] DANCE WITH THE SHADOWS! LET THE BLACK MOON SHINE! [Male Vocals] WHEN THE GRAVEYARD GETS TO ROCKING, EVERYBODY LOSES TIME! [Instrumental] [Bridge] [Male Voice] At three fifty-nine… The music stopped. Every face turned toward the clock. The woman stepped down from the stage. And whispered… “One musician stays. One musician goes.” [Female Vocals] Somebody has to keep the rhythm, Somebody has to pay. The music needs a living soul Before the break of day. [Male Voice] Then Frankenstein looked at me… And handed me his guitar. [Electric Guitar Solo] [Verse 4] I could hear the morning coming, I could feel it in the floor. There was sunlight in the keyhole, And a shadow at the door. The woman held her hand out, Said, “You know what must be done.” I looked down at that striped guitar, Then back toward the rising sun. I laid it on the amplifier, And I turned to walk away. But the skeleton began to laugh, And the Wolf Man started to play. Then I heard my own voice singing From the speakers on the wall. And I saw my name in silver On a poster down the hall. [Final Chorus] THE DEAD DON’T LEAVE AT MIDNIGHT! THE DEAD DON’T GO AT DAWN! THEY KEEP THAT DIRTY RHYTHM WHEN THE LIVING HAVE MOVED ON! [Female Vocals] DANCE WITH THE SHADOWS! LET THE BLACK MOON SHINE! [Male Vocals] THERE’S A NEW MAN IN THE BAND TONIGHT, AND THE LAST ONE LEFT BEHIND! [Outro] [Male Voice] They found my truck on Mercy Lane. Engine cold. Driver’s door open. And on the seat… One little funeral card. [Female Vocals] Same time next Halloween… [Male Voice] Only this time… My name was on the invitation. [Hard Stop] [End]