Odes to Poncey-Highland · Track 5 · middle
The Streetcar Suburb
Early 1900s — Poncey-Highland takes shape as a streetcar suburb of craftsman bungalows and grand homes along Ponce de Leon and North Highland, the two avenues whose names became the neighborhood's own.
Lyrics
All aboard, heading east Out to the edge of the trees Catch the spark on the wire, the Nine-Mile Circle rolls Leaving the city smoke for the heavy oak groves It's 1910 and the hammers are loud Raising up a roof for a brand new town Craftsman timber with the bracketed eaves Sleeping porches hidden in the summer leaves Where Ponce de Leon crosses North Highland We're drawing up a map for a front-porch island The streetcar sparks and the avenue hums Look at the shape of the neighborhood to come A crossroad calling out to the sky Watch the bungalows rise Tapered columns standing heavy and strong Pouring a foundation where the neighbors belong Brick by brick on the avenue bend Wide pine steps where the afternoon ends Out on the corner, the grid starts to shift A couple miles out for the passenger lift Where Ponce de Leon crosses North Highland We're drawing up a map for a front-porch island The streetcar sparks and the avenue hums Look at the shape of the neighborhood to come A crossroad calling out to the sky Watch the bungalows rise Take a walk down the grade Hear the rhythm of the line in the magnolia shade Every beam is a promise, every window a shape Taking two long streets to build an escape Where Ponce de Leon crosses North Highland We're drawing up a map for a front-porch island The streetcar sparks and the avenue hums Look at the shape of the neighborhood to come A crossroad calling out to the sky Watch the bungalows rise Yeah, watch the bungalows rise Catch the 1910 light in your eyes Where Ponce meets Highland And the rail goes... quiet in the grass