Sam's Last Boogie

In the darkest part of the city
And on the coldest night of the year
A dangerous man with a gun in his hand
Put an end to a brief career
You won’t read about it in the paper
You won’t hear about it on the news
But handsome Sam the Boogie Man
Hung up his dancing shoes
Let me tell you 'bout Sam the Boogie Man
He was the king of Second Street
He was a dancer from his fingertips
To the bottoms of his feet
Well, inside that boy an unnatural joy
Just swinging to the beat
His dips and slides would mesmerize
Each woman that he’d meet
And that boy could boogie!
Sure could boogie!
Yeah, boogie was the beat that moved the feet
Of Sam that Boogie Man
Well, Ruby was this showgirl
With opalescent eyes
An ivory smile and a diamond heart
And alabaster thighs
He met her in the summertime
Out on a parquet floor
And he danced her from those neon lights
Right to her bedroom door
And that boy could boogie!
Sure could boogie!
Yeah, boogie was the beat that moved the feet
Of Sam that Boogie Man
He thought it was another fling
But that girl was much too strong
She swore that she would see him dead
If he ever did her wrong
As summer lost its leaves to fall
So this fine affair
Was fading fast, it couldn’t last;
Sam vanished in the air
And that boy could boogie!
Sure could boogie!
Yeah, boogie was the beat that moved the feet
Of Sam that Boogie Man
Well, he couldn’t go to dance halls
'cause he knew that he’d be found;
But he slipped up in Saint Louie
When he heard that boogie sound
And he was tearing up the dance floor
When they escorted him outside;
Said, «You want to dance, well here’s your chance.»
And they took him for a little ride
It was Sam’s last boogie
Sam’s last boogie
It was Sam’s last boogie
But he boogied 'til the day he died!