Keys roll like a river through a southern night
Brass in the alley with the porch light bright
From the delta blues to a gospel choir
Every note's a spark that can light the fire
Wind-up records on a scratchy spin
Louis on the trumpet and the swing comes in
Tin can wires, a voice in the rain
Music been a ghost that can't be chained
Ooh, ooh, hey
Bow! Let it echo through the ages
Flip that vinyl, turn the pages
South to the stars, let the beat unwind
We're the history of sound in a modern mind
Clap, snap, let the hi-hats ride
From a church bell ring to a bass worldwide
Every note we play got a story to tell
Time-travel through the music with a hip hop smell
Steam train rolling with a rhythm divine
Cotton fields hummin' on the county line
Gospel to jazz to the birth of soul
Hip hop drums make the record whole
Speech like stars in a southern sky
Piano like rain when the clouds roll by
Every melody's a time machine
From a forty's ballroom to a neon dream
Take me back to the horns and swing
Tape machine and the echo ring
Now lift me up with that modern sound
Where the future's built on the old hometown
I said, where the future's built in Springfield!
Bow! Let it echo through the ages
Flip that vinyl, turn the pages
South to the stars, let the beat unwind
We're the history of sound in a modern mind
Clap, snap, let the hi-hats ride
From a church bell ring to a bass worldwide
Every note we play got a story to tell
Time-travel through the music with a hip hop smell
Past and present on the same parade
The sound don't die, it just gets re-made
