The Bus

Lyrics

[Intro — instrumental only, no vocals]
[a stop-cord dings, an air-brake sighs, a diesel idles; the beat builds]
[Instrumental build — still no singing, let the groove settle in]
[Instrumental — the cord and the strings carry it alone]

[Verse 1 — vocals enter at last]
The rail gets the glory but the bus does the work,
the routes through the neighborhoods where the rail can't lurk;
pull the cord, hear the ding-ding ring,
the bus is the artery, the everything.

[Chorus]
The bus, the bus, ding and sigh,
the air-brake kneeling as the riders climb;
ding, hiss, ding, let the back door fly,
the workhorse rolling under the Georgia sky.

[Verse 2]
The 110 and the routes uncounted,
the riders waiting where the rail's surmounted;
every stop a home, every cord a call,
the MARTA bus connecting it all.

[Chorus]
The bus, the bus, ding and sigh,
the air-brake kneeling as the riders climb;
ding, hiss, ding, let the back door fly,
the workhorse rolling under the Georgia sky.

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