Silver nitrate dreams spool through my gate
Carbon arcs kiss dust in humid air
Cypress shadows stretch past the garden gate
Fireflies punch holes in bayou glare
Celluloid dusk on the porch tonight
Reels turn slow in the fading light
Bayou don't care what the frames retain
Just the hum and the hiss of the silver rain
Celluloid dusk burn clean and bright
Gator slides leave V's in black water glass
Spanish moss drapes the lens like lace
Catfish whiskers taste the hour that pass
My shutter clicks keep their own slow pace
Celluloid dusk on the porch tonight
Reels turn slow in the fading light
Bayou don't care what the frames retain
Just the hum and the hiss of the silver rain
Celluloid dusk burn clean and bright
Meter's running whether the picture shows
Long way round's sometimes the shortcut home
Rain falls equal on the just and those
Who watch the gate weave dying to roam
Celluloid dusk on the porch tonight
Reels turn slow in the fading light
Bayou don't care what the frames retain
Just the hum and the hiss of the silver rain
Celluloid dusk burn clean and bright
Sprockets chew the dark frame by frame
No fare paid for the final reel
Cello bow sings the projector's name
Banjo picks what the light can't heal
Porch swing creaks its wooden hymn low
Martin guitar rings the closing chord
Last frame flutters where the fireflies go
Bayou keeps the stories the screen stored
Celluloid dusk on the porch tonight
Reels turn slow in the fading light
Bayou don't care what the frames retain
Just the hum and the hiss of the silver rain
Celluloid dusk burn clean and bright
Celluloid dusk burn clean and bright
Lamp dies slow
Bayou knows