Hot air hangs like a dead man

From a white oak tree

People sitting on porches

Thinking how things used to be



Dark night, it's a dark night

Dark night, it's a dark night



The neighborhood was changing

Strangers moving in

A new boy fell for a local girl

When she made eyes at him



She was young and pretty

No stranger to other men

Open doors were being locked at night

And old lines drawn again



I thought these things

Didn't matter anymore

I thought all that blood

Had been shed long ago



Dark night, it's a dark night



He took her to the outskirts

And pledged his love to her

They thought it was their secret

But someone knew where they were



He held her so close

He asked about her dreams

When a bullet from a passing car

Made the young girl scream



I thought these things

Didn't happen anymore

I thought all that blood

Had been shed long ago



Dark night, it's a dark night

Dark night, it's a dark night