[Verse]

Now let ol’ Bango Bob tell you y’all about a ruse,

Listen closely now while I lay it on smooth,

Don’t look back, don’t blink too soon…

Swamp got secrets… and it knows you…

[low chuckle]

[Verse 1]

Down where the blackwater don’t run straight,

Where the cypress lean and the night stay late,

Heard a whisper drift through the Spanish moss,

Said “step right in, but you might get lost…”

Got bones in the mud and eyes in the reeds,

Little bit of truth tangled up in the weeds,

I was drummin’ low on a hollow log tune,

When somethin’ smiled back from the gloom…

[Pre-Chorus]

Said “Bob, oh Bob, won’t you play that beat?”

Voice like honey but it smelled like deceit…

I grinned wide, showed all my teeth—

Ain’t nothin’ in the swamp gon’ out-trick me…

[Chorus]

🎶 Bango Bob, play that ruse real slow,

Tap them drums where the dark things go,

Left foot sinkin’, right foot stuck,

Swamp don’t care ‘bout your luck…

🎶 Bango Bob, hear that spirit croon,

Dancin’ with a ghost by the pale moon,

Laugh now, child, but you’ll see soon—

Ain’t nobody leaves this ruse…

[Verse 2]

She came out the fog like a fever dream,

Skin like shadow, eyes like gleam,

Said she’d grant me gold, said she’d grant me fame,

All I gotta do is give her my name…

Well I tipped my hat, kept my voice down low,

Said “I ain’t no fool from the bayou below,”

But she circled ‘round with a crooked grin,

Said “You already let me in…”

[Bongo Break – instrumental]

[fast, tribal bongos, slide guitar whining, distant whispers: “Bob…Bob…Bob…”]

[Verse 3]

Now the trees leaned close, like they wanted in,

Air went thick and the light got thin,

Every step I took made the ground complain,

Like the swamp itself knew my name…

I tried to laugh, keep it loose and sly,

But the drumbeat started playin’ me inside,

Every tap echoed somethin’ old—

A story that had already been told…

[Pre-Chorus]

She said “Bob, oh Bob, you been here before…”

Heard that line but I couldn’t be sure…

Then I saw my tracks in the mud ahead—

Walkin’ circles with the long-gone dead…

[Chorus]

🎶 Bango Bob, play that ruse real slow,

Tap them drums where the dark things go,

Left foot sinkin’, right foot stuck,

Swamp don’t care ‘bout your luck…

🎶 Bango Bob, hear that spirit croon,

Dancin’ with a ghost by the pale moon,

Laugh now, child, but you’ll see soon—

Ain’t nobody leaves this ruse…

[Bridge – half sung, half spoken, eerie]

[whispering voices underneath]

You hear that drum? …that ain’t me…

That’s you…

Been playin’ that rhythm since you stepped through…

Every story needs a fool…

Every swamp needs one more soul…

(low, manic laughter)

[Final Chorus – bigger, darker]

🎶 Bango Bob, play that ruse real slow,

Now you part of the tale you told,

Left foot gone and your voice turned strange,

Swamp done rewrote your name…

🎶 Bango Bob, hear that spirit croon,

You been dancin’ here since last June,

Next poor soul gon’ hear your tune—

Singin’ them deeper into the ruse…Now hush up close… I hear ‘em near…

Another set of footsteps drawin’ here…

[soft bongo taps]

Go on now… step on through…

Ol’ Bango Bob been waitin’ for you…

[final hollow drum hit + distant laugh]