Lakewood Fort McPherson

Lyrics

[Intro — instrumental only, no vocals]
[a military snare rattles a cadence and boots march; the beat builds]
[Instrumental build — still no singing, let the groove settle in]
[Instrumental — the snare and the strings carry it alone]

[Verse 1 — vocals enter at last]
Old Lakewood grounds where the speedway roared,
the shuttered fort where the soldiers warred;
snap the snare, march the line,
Lakewood keeping a martial time.

[Chorus]
Lakewood, Fort Mac, rat-tat-tat,
the drumline marching where the base once sat;
left, right, left on the southside ground,
the old parade where the trains come round.

[Verse 2]
The fairground ghosts and the racing past,
a fort gone quiet but the cadence lasts;
every boot-fall echoes down the years,
Lakewood drumming for the volunteers.

[Chorus]
Lakewood, Fort Mac, rat-tat-tat,
the drumline marching where the base once sat;
left, right, left on the southside ground,
the old parade where the trains come round.

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