[Intro - deep baritone spoken word, organ and soft horns underneath] You know... Some love walks right through the front door Shakes your hand... sits at your table... But some love... Some love got to come around the side Quiet-like... in the mornin'... And this is the story... of that kind of love... Listen... [Verse 1 - gritty, aching] Seven-fifteen, I watch his taillights fade Coffee still warm in the cup he made I park my car 'round the corner, down the block Baby, you don't even have to watch the clock 'Cause you know I'm comin'... yes, you know I'm comin'... [Pre-Chorus - building, horns swell] It ain't right, Lord knows it ain't right But wrong never felt so good I'd walk away, girl, I swear I would But my feet keep findin' your neighborhood [Chorus - pleading, falsetto lifts] Keep the back door open, baby (open, baby) When your man go to work, that's when I come alive Keep the back door open, baby (open, baby) Love done made me a thief, sneakin' in from the side I can't have you in the daylight (no, no) So I love you in the shadows, girl Keep the back door open... for me... [Verse 2 - tender, half-whispered] Screen door whisper, coffee on the stove You in his kitchen, wearin' my favorite robe We don't say much, ain't much to say Just holdin' on to these borrowed hours 'fore they slip away Eight hours of heaven... in somebody else's home... [Pre-Chorus] It ain't right, Lord knows it ain't right But wrong never felt so good I'd give you up, girl, you know I would But this heart of mine ain't made of wood [Chorus - full power] Keep the back door open, baby (open, baby) When your man go to work, that's when I come alive Keep the back door open, baby (open, baby) Love done made me a thief, sneakin' in from the side I can't have you in the daylight (no, no) So I love you in the shadows, girl Keep the back door open... for me... [Bridge - spoken word returns over falsetto humming, strings creep in] You see... people gonna talk... They gonna say what we got is wrong... But they ain't never stood in this kitchen... At eight o'clock in the mornin'... Watchin' the sunlight come through them curtains... Fallin' on the only woman that ever made me feel like a man... (Hmm-hmm-hmm...) Tell me who's wrong now... [Breakdown - hushed falsetto, just organ and bass] Ooh... one day, baby... One day I'm gonna walk you out that front door Head held high, hand in mine But till that day... till that sweet day... [Final Chorus - raw, tearing loose, ad-libs] Keep the back door open, baby (please, baby, please!) When your man go to work, that's when I come alive (I come alive!) Keep the back door open, baby (don't you lock it now) Love done made me a thief, but I stole somethin' that was mine (mine, all mine!) I can't have you in the daylight (not yet, not yet) So I love you in the shadows, girl Keep the back door open... [Outro - ad-libs over fading organ and horns] Leave it open, baby... Just a crack... just a crack now... Hmm... seven-fifteen tomorrow... I'll be there... you know I'll be there... Got to... got to, got to, got to... (fade out)
