Druid Hills High and the Sheridan Streets

Lyrics

[Intro]
October. Fifty-eight degrees.
Bermuda grass, cut low and tight.
Under the tall lights.

[Verse 1]
Yeah, I'm on the east-side planks.
Red paint peeling, white paint holding on.
They've been here since 1958.
Watching the kids from Sheridan spill down the hill.
Watching the boys from Eldorado, same brick houses, different year.
They feed the line, they feed the stands.
Druid Hills High. A civic spine.
That's what they call it.

[Chorus]
But the roar of this crowd is a catastrophic sound.
It's the noise you make to cover what's not found.
In the yearbook index, on the PTA roll call.
Every Friday night, we build the same damn wall.
And we cheer so loud we forget who's not here at all.

[Verse 2]
I see the mothers at the edge of the light.
They walk their kids to the gate, then fade back into the night.
Can't make the Tuesday meeting, can't run the bake sale stand.
Shabbat comes down like a law across the land.
And the groundskeeper, the one they call the lawn man...
He's been here since 1968, got every inch of it planned.
Knows every sprinkler head, every dead spot in the sod.
His name's not on a plaque. We just give him a nod.

[Chorus]
And the roar of this crowd is a catastrophic sound.
It's the noise you make to cover what's not found.
In the yearbook index, on the PTA roll call.
Every Friday night, we build the same damn wall.
And we cheer so loud we forget who's not here at all.

[Bridge]
In the old field house, there's a wooden booth.
Still got the rotary phone, if you want the truth.
Coach'd lock himself in, call the Journal sports desk.
"Final score: Red Devils, 21-7." Put it to the test.
Making the official record.
Etching it in ink.
Some stories get the call.
Some just fall off the brink.

[Chorus]
Yeah, the roar of the crowd is a catastrophic sound!
It's the noise we make so no one looks around!
At the yearbook index, at the PTA roll call!
Every Friday night, we build the same damn beautiful wall!
And we cheer so loud we don't hear the silence at all!

[Outro]
The lights click off. One by one.
The snare drums echo and then they're done.
Just the walk back up Eldorado.
Cleats on the pavement.
Going home.