Keys roll like a river through a southern night Brass in the alley with the porch light bright From the delta blues to a gospel choir Every note's a spark that can light the fire Wind-up records on a scratchy spin Louis on the trumpet and the swing comes in Tin can wires, a voice in the rain Music been a ghost that can't be chained Ooh, ooh, hey Bow! Let it echo through the ages Flip that vinyl, turn the pages South to the stars, let the beat unwind We're the history of sound in a modern mind Clap, snap, let the hi-hats ride From a church bell ring to a bass worldwide Every note we play got a story to tell Time-travel through the music with a hip hop smell Steam train rolling with a rhythm divine Cotton fields hummin' on the county line Gospel to jazz to the birth of soul Hip hop drums make the record whole Speech like stars in a southern sky Piano like rain when the clouds roll by Every melody's a time machine From a forty's ballroom to a neon dream Take me back to the horns and swing Tape machine and the echo ring Now lift me up with that modern sound Where the future's built on the old hometown I said, where the future's built in Springfield! Bow! Let it echo through the ages Flip that vinyl, turn the pages South to the stars, let the beat unwind We're the history of sound in a modern mind Clap, snap, let the hi-hats ride From a church bell ring to a bass worldwide Every note we play got a story to tell Time-travel through the music with a hip hop smell Past and present on the same parade The sound don't die, it just gets re-made