MARTA & BeltLine: Rhythms of the East

Lyrics

[Intro]
I hear you before I see you.
A low note held since December, seventy-nine.
The first pulse.

[Verse 1]
Up on the concrete platform, under the canopy.
The yellow line tells you where to stand.
Eight-fifteen AM, the morning rush.
That automated voice, clean and calm.
A three-tone chime, a warning.
Then the hiss of the doors, sealing the world in, or out.
A rumble through the soles of my shoes.
This is the iron heartbeat.
Scheduled, steady, always on time.

[Chorus]
This is the rhythm of the east side.
The iron heartbeat, the asphalt breath.
MARTA's deep hum, the BeltLine's light step.
One is the schedule, one is the escape.
Two different songs playing in the same place.

[Verse 2]
Then, down below, another current flows.
Started in October, twenty-twelve.
A different kind of line.
The soft squeak of running shoes on the path.
A bright, sharp ring from a bicycle bell.
Snippets of conversation, a dog's happy bark.
This is the rhythm made of muscle and air.
No schedule to keep, just the sun and the shade.

[Chorus]
This is the rhythm of the east side.
The iron heartbeat, the asphalt breath.
MARTA's deep hum, the BeltLine's light step.
One is the schedule, one is the escape.
Two different songs playing in the same place.

[Bridge]
Sometimes, standing on the wooden bridge over the trail,
you can feel it all at once.
The train passing overhead, a shadow and a roar.
While below, life just keeps walking.
A jogger doesn't break their stride.
The two pulses cross, but they don't break.
One is the promise of somewhere else.
The other is the feeling of being right here.

[Outro]
The train's rumble fades west toward downtown.
The chatter on the path softens with the light.
And all that's left...
is that quiet hum.
The sound of the power.
Waiting for the next pulse.