[Intro]
The shallow water shimmers in the street light
The neon signs can't escape the eye
The smell of fish and spice, a smell of which can mix so nice
So take me back here before I die
And the greatest infection is that of affection
And I wouldn't have it any other way
But what can I say?

[Verse 1]
Circumstance had brought her to the city
She was left behind to try and find a cheap hotel to sleep at night
Well, hard times fell and she took to strippin'
Just a nineteen year old girl in the grasps of middle-aged married men
And the Bourbon Street bullhorn boys bellowed boasts of beautiful girls
Who dance behind black curtains in the night
And oh, how that stigma follows, just another slut on drugs
And through the drunken slander, she held her pride

[Chorus]
And I'll come back to New Orleans
And I hope to find that you're still waiting there for me
'Cause I'll be back in New Orleans
If you still want me there

[Verse 2]
She'd only been two weeks in the city
It'd only been two nights for me
And was it vacation high? It felt so real when we said goodbye
And I hope this feeling never fades
And the greatest infection is that of affection
And I wouldn't have it any other way
In a city full of devils, I found an angel there
And fell in love with a stripper but I never saw her dance
[Chorus]
But I'll come back to New Orleans
And I hope to find that you're still waiting there for me
'Cause I'll be back in New Orleans
If you still want me there

[Outro]
And the shallow water shimmers in the street light
The neon signs can't escape the eye
And the city sleeps, but I keep on stirring
So take me back here before I die