Then Came the Night

Long-legged shadows
Mississippi sunset
She was standing like a candle
That hadn't been burned yet
The wind was blowin'
Clouds like ashes
Had my hand in my pocket
Reaching for my matches
I can see those
Cotton sheets dancin'
On her mama's clothesline in my head
From my lips a Lucky Strike was danglin'
The day was dyin' in a sea of red

Then came the night
Warm and dark
Draggin' its chains
Across our hearts
The moon was full
The grass was wet
Makin' us scream makin' us sweat
Holdin' on tight
It was wrong it was right
Then came the night

There was a time
When love was a flower
Now it's a vine
Climbin' up the tower
And the river just rolls
Past the garden
Where love won't grow
And the ground is hardened
I can see the tattered white flag flyin'
I can hear the ringin' mission bell
Telling of the innocence that's dyin'
A sound that I remember oh so well

Then came the night
Warm and dark
Draggin' its chains
Across our hearts
The moon was full
The grass was wet
Makin' us scream makin' us sweat
Makin' us cling makin' us claw
Makin' us rise makin' us fall
Breath on breath, skin on skin
I can't go back, there again
Holdin' on tight
It was wrong it was right
Then came the night

I remember that summer
I was workin' for her daddy
I was still a boy
But I knew I was ready
When she reached out and took my hand
She became a woman
And I became a man

I wonder if she still thinks about me
The way I still think about her
You don't forget something like that
There's only one first time