Dixie Drug Store

It was muggy July around supper time
When I pulled into New Orleans
I got dropped off
At South Rampart Street
I was hungry for a plate of greens
I made my way down the banquette
Where I could see an open door
And overhead a sign
Made of painted pine read
The Dixie Drug Store

Peppers and roots were hanging
From the rafters above
There were oils and sprays
All on display
For money, luck and for love
I reached down to pick one up
When a dark hand grabbed my arm
And before I could see just who it was
She said "You don't want that charm,

The last man to walk that thing out of here
He just up and disappeared.
Found his wallet and his wingtip shoes
Near a tombstone down in Algiers
What you need my travelling friend,
Is a place to wash your jeans
And I wouldn't be the least surprised
If you were hungry for a plate of greens"

She beckoned me on up the stairs
For she'd done made up her mind
She said "Take off your hat
And kick off your boots
And leave your pride behind"

Then she took me down to a secret place
In the bayou of her blankets
She offered to share her bourbon
I thanked her, then I drank it.
Through a small crack in the ceiling
Burst the Louisiana moon
It shone down on our bodies
And we began to croon

Like a couple of coyotes
We were howling thru the night
And I swear they were a beatin' those
Congo drums outside

We laughed until the mornin'
By then my pants had dried
I picked up my hat and pulled on my boots
And I gathered up my pride
I figured she had done stepped out
I didn't see her anywhere
And I set out to find her
I headed on downstairs

I got down to the bottom
I couldn't believe my eyes
Gone were all the bottles
And the remedy supplies
I shouted out for Mary
I darted out the door
An old man on the wooden porch said,
"What you in there for?
Son you got no business
the hoodoo store's been closed
long as I remember
a century I suppose"

"But Mr., I just spent the night
with a young gal named Laveau"
He said "The widow Paris
done had a little laugh on you"
I said "You mean to tell me,
that was the Voodooing?"
He nodded yes, "None other,
the Queen of New Orleans."