There's a moon over bourbon street tonight
I see faces as they pass beneath the pale lamplight
I've no choice but to follow that call
The bright lights the people and the moon and all
I pray everyday to be strong
For I know what I do must be wrong
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there's a moon over bourbon street

It was many years ago that I became what I am
I was trapped in this life like an innocent lamb
Now I can never show my face at noon
And you'll only see me walking by the light of the moon
The brim of my hat hides the eye of a beast
I've the face of a sinner but the hands of a priest
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there's a moon over bourbon street

She walks everyday through the streets of New Orleans
She's innocent and young from a family of means
I have stood many times outside her window at night
To struggle with my instinct in the pale moonlight
How could I be this way when I pray to god above
I must love what I destroy and destroy the thing I love
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there's a moon over bourbon street


Lyrics submitted by Novartza

Moon Over Bourbon Street Lyrics as written by Gordon Sumner

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Moon Over Bourbon Street song meanings
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    General Comment

    That's right. I heard this song for the first time in 1986. I was 15 then and had never heard of Anne Rice. It took me several years to figure out what Sting was talking about. But because the song intrigued me, I kept listening to it. Then when I discovered the Vampire Chronicles, it hit me like a ton of bricks! I admire Sting so much. He can fashion a song out of almost anything. No one else writes with the same intelligence and emotion as Sting. Peace

    Rogue1on July 07, 2002   Link

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