It takes you to another place.
That trumpet singing,
on and off pace.
It takes you to another world.
That rhythm section
sends you off for
a meeting with the stars—
a place where sorrows sing
from way off, far.
Yet, you feel closer than ever.
Sorrow and joy mixing
in that scaled fever
Where worries seem to disappear.
That rhythm! Ah, yes!
Can you hear?!
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
St. Louis whistles his melody.
He sends you cascading
into the balladry
where the dust of a thousand lives
dance in the solace
of a starry night,
Where love is lost and had
on a wooden floor.
Tap with the band.
Sway, swing that jazzing twist
like a smoky haze—
the grey, Harlem mist.
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
Do you feel that beat?
It’s bouncing off the street.
It’s reeling in the heat
of passioned memories.
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
Do you hear that sound?
It’s trumping all around.
It’s thumping on the ground
with deep, booming bounds.
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
doom tick doom tick
Feel that smooth jazz tap at
your homesick heart,
drawing you back
into arms you thought long past
into a lover’s past.
No! Here at last
you can waltz in and lean again,
back into the longing arms
of love’s refrain.