North Avenue

Lyrics

[Intro — instrumental only, no vocals]
[an ahooga-horn honks and an order counter clatters; the beat builds]
[Instrumental build — still no singing, let the groove settle in]
[Instrumental — the horn and the strings carry it alone]

[Verse 1 — vocals enter at last]
Down where the Varsity's been frying forever,
"what'll ya have" in the rush-hour weather;
the Ramblin' Wreck goes ahooga-ahoo,
North Avenue feeding the whole Tech crew.

[Chorus]
North Avenue, North Avenue, horn and grease,
a chili-dog city that never finds peace;
ahooga, ahooga, the engine's lit,
the gold-and-white heart in the middle of it.

[Verse 2]
Engineers spilling from the yellow-jacket halls,
the onion rings stacked to the greasy walls;
honk the old Ford, let the lunch line ring,
North Avenue buzzing like a living thing.

[Chorus]
North Avenue, North Avenue, horn and grease,
a chili-dog city that never finds peace;
ahooga, ahooga, the engine's lit,
the gold-and-white heart in the middle of it.

[Outro — vocals stop here]
[Instrumental — the ahooga horn rides out alone, no more singing]
[Long instrumental outro — the groove fades slowly all the way down to silence]