My obsession with Night Trap’s lyrics

I LOVE the theme to Night Trap. I have some really intimate memories with this song, and those memories have been with me for a long time. But something that always went along with those memories was the inability to sing the song’s climax. At the time the remastered version hadn’t been released so I found the cleanest rip I could and was satisfied enough, but the audio was so noisy and parts of the song so vocally rushed that no matter how hard I tried I could not decipher what the full lyrics were. It became a bit of a mental puzzle to entertain me on bus rides and long walks home from campus; I’d listen to the song to just enjoy it and challenge myself to try and piece together the lyrics, but still I couldn’t interpret it. I opened it up in Ableton and looped the song’s climax over and over through my studio monitors and still nothing. Even when the remastered version was released, it didn’t help much (although I’ll get to that soon.) I even emailed Martin Lund and still turned up nothing.

Fast forward to about two months ago. Still listening, still guessing. But for some reason I think I was editing embedded lyrics for some songs in my library and I went to check on Night Trap’s lyrics to see how it looked, and after reading down the lyrics for a little while it finally clicked. While I had spent all this time looping the offending bit of lyrics over and over, I should have just looked at how the lyrics would have fit into the context of the song. At that point there are only so many logical options the lyrics to be, and after some thought I think I’ve finally nailed it, but before I go any farther let’s listen to what I’m actually talking about.

Night Trap Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESAn2rRKpCQ)

Here’s the easily deciphered part of the lyrics:

Love is easy by the light of day
You get the boys to play away
But at sundown when darkness falls
Passion burns but danger calls

So girls go out only if you dare
You’d better be good, you’d better beware

Night Trap
Bad boys will find you
Night Trap
Watch out behind you
Night Trap
Girls if you ______
You’ll be caught in the night
Night Trap

Night Trap
Bad boys will find you
Night Trap
Watch out behind you
Night Trap
Girls if you ______
You’ll get caught in the night
You’ll get caught in the night
In the Night Trap

Night Trap

The only real stab I’ve seen anyone take at deciphering that line is a lone FAQ on GameFAQs hilariously titled "Night Trap Song Lyrics FAQ". Seems I’m not the first person to look into this. Unfortunately, not only does the line they offer not make sense it context, the audio on the song sounds nothing like it. Their line is "Girls if you are driving a ride…" No. Years later and Night Trap’s 25th Anniversary Edition is released, and coinciding with the release of the game is a remastered version of the Night Trap Theme for digital download and 7" record. Around this time a second FAQ gets written, this time a script of the game. Unfortunately this was just a case of someone listening to the lyrics and transcribing their best attempt, and their attempt was "Girls, if you’re taking a ride" Also a big no. It makes a little more sense than the first attempt but it’s still very clumsy when compared to the rest of the lyrics and again doesn’t match the audio that’s actually sung.

So with that unnecessary exposition out of the way, here are what I believe to be the correct lyrics to the Night Trap theme song:

Love is easy by the light of day
You get the boys to play away
But at sundown when darkness falls
Passion burns but danger calls

So girls go out only if you dare
You’d better be good, you’d better beware

Night Trap
Bad boys will find you
Night Trap
Watch out behind you
Night Trap
Girls if you try to make it right
You’ll be caught in the night
Night Trap

Night Trap
Bad boys will find you
Night Trap
Watch out behind you
Night Trap
Girls if you try to make it right
You’ll get caught in the night
You’ll get caught in the night
In the Night Trap

Night Trap

"Girls if you try to make it right." It’s much more obvious once you realize it. The song is directed at "girls" and even uses the word near the beginning of a previous lyric. "try to make it right" not only matches the sung audio exactly but it’s also summarizing the objective of the game itself. Unlike "driving" or "taking a ride" it’s directly relevant to the game and sounds a lot more natural. Plus again, it exactly matches the sung audio. Also, a huge benefit of the remastered version that I hadn’t realized at the time is that the song is not only extended from the Sega CD version, but the second chorus isn’t just a copy of the first, its just further along in the take. This means Sunny BlueSkyes’ singing of the second chorus is slightly different, and while it’s still as rushed and muffled, it gives us a second point of comparison for figuring out these lyrics. Again, "Girls if you try to make it right" is a perfect fit.

And that’s it. My odd and unfortunate obsession with deciphering the lyrics to Night Trap are over, and I can finally belt that chorus at the top of my lungs. It may not be a beautiful sound, but at least now I can do it with confidence. Thanks for reading everyone 🙂

"Girls if you turn to your right, you’ll get caught in the night"