Smooth Criminal in a Sunday Coat

Intro

la-la-la, ah-ah (mm)

la-la-la, ah-ah (mm)

Verse

There’s a soft-footed shadow on my front step,

boots that hush the gravel like a secret kept. (shh)

He pours moonlight into his collar, tucks his hands inside his coat,

smiles like a promise I once wrote.

I set my kettle on the old stove, watch the steam lean out the door,

he moves through the hallway like he’s been here before.

He takes the corners gentle, like he knows where things belong,

but he leaves a crooked memory where the melody was strong.

Pre-chorus

And I could tell you how the hour bends, how the door stays ajar,

how every slow confession has a way of finding scars. (finds scars)

Chorus

He’s a smooth criminal in a Sunday coat, (oh-oh)

he takes the steady from the steady, takes the warm and makes it float, (oh-oh)

he’s a smooth criminal with a lullaby, (la-la)

he hums the right notes and I let the world slide by. (la-la, by)

He’s a smooth criminal in a Sunday coat, (oh-oh)

he takes the steady from the steady, takes the warm and makes it float, (oh-oh)

he’s a smooth criminal with a lullaby, (la-la)

he hums the right notes and I let the world slide by. (la-la, by)

Verse

He folds his rumors into paper, tucks them in his sleeve,

reads the weather on my face like it’s a song he must believe. (yeah)

He speaks in half-addressed apologies, in polished little lies,

leaves a watercolor bruise beneath the bright of my eyes.

I pour a second cup of courage, set it on the sill,

count the cracks in the wallpaper, try to keep my hands still.

But he moves like soft rain, he moves like a name I can’t forget,

and every answer I receive is wrapped in cigarette smoke and regret.

Bridge

Sing low, sing slow, let the chorus mend the seam, (oh)

pull the thread of morning through the night’s thin seam. (pull it)

There’s a kindness in his crooked grin, a sorrow in his step,

and I keep the light for strangers who have learned to weep and yet—

Chorus

He’s a smooth criminal in a Sunday coat, (oh-oh)

he takes the steady from the steady, takes the warm and makes it float, (oh-oh)

he’s a smooth criminal with a lullaby, (la-la)

he hums the right notes and I let the world slide by. (la-la, by)

He’s a smooth criminal in a Sunday coat, (oh-oh)

he takes the steady from the steady, takes the warm and makes it float, (oh-oh)

he’s a smooth criminal with a lullaby, (la-la)

he hums the right notes and I let the world slide by. (la-la, by)

Outro

la-la-la, ah-ah (mm)

la-la-la, ah-ah (fade)