Call Street Shuffle

[Intro - spoken over upright bass and brushed drums] Crows of Call Street, come to order. I been ordered twice and ignored both receipts. Hush before the music changes its mind. Let him talk. His mouth got rhythm even when his sense don’t. That mouth need a leash. Ha! [Verse 1] Down on Call Street where the lamp posts lean, Five black feathers on a rooftop scene, Bass line walking like it owes rent, Trumpet talking ’bout where trouble went. I seen trouble. It was wearing a hat. That was a mailbox. Still looked suspicious from where I sat. Suspicious got a nice little swing. So does panic with wings. [Chorus] Do the Call Street Shuffle, Claw-step, wing-slide, Lean to the left where the moon can’t hide. Call Street Shuffle, Tap twice, don’t fall, Five crows singing from a telephone wall. Caw high. Caw low. Caw fast when you don’t know. Tell the truth. Keep time. Everybody get in line. [Verse 2] I invented this step back in ninety-two, Before I was born, but the math came through. Left foot lying, right foot slick, Tail feather snapped like a drumstick click. You ain’t invented nothing but noise and delay. Noise built jazz, that’s all I’m gon’ say. Let him have one bar, let him feel tall. He gon’ trip in the fall. I heard that. Wasn’t hiding. [Chorus] Do the Call Street Shuffle, Claw-step, wing-slide, Lean to the left where the moon can’t hide. Call Street Shuffle, Tap twice, don’t fall, Five crows singing from a telephone wall. This branch got order. Not since he arrived. But the beat feels better. That means I survived. Barely. Ha! [Verse 3] Now keep that rhythm clean and neat, No wasted motion, no crooked feet. Don’t chase thunder, don’t praise fools, Keep your swing and keep your rules. Honey in a treetop tune, Sweet little note make a wolfhound swoon. Ain’t start nothing, just hummed one line, Then the whole block blamed me by supper time. Because you started it. I seasoned it. Same thing where I come from. Nobody asked where you come from. [Bridge] Every good shuffle got rules to obey. Rule one, don’t listen too hard. Rule two, keep fast wings out the lead. Rule three, sing sweet when you plant the seed. Rule four. What’s rule four? Don’t dance on a weak wire. That feel personal. It was general till you moved. [Scat Break] Ba-da-bap, ba-da-boom, Wingtip sliding by the moon, Caw-caw, clap-clap, Feather in a snare-drum trap. Shoo-be-doo, look alive. Fastest crow in five. Fast ain’t good when sense is slow. There he go. Trumpet, testify. Clarinet, complain. Bass, tell the truth. Somebody stepping on my foot. That was harmony. [Final Chorus] Do the Call Street Shuffle, Claw-step, wing-slide, Lean to the left where the moon can’t hide. Call Street Shuffle, Tap twice, don’t fall, Five crows singing from a telephone wall. Call Street Shuffle, Branch-bend, tail-snap, One wrong move and the whole band flap. Call Street Shuffle, Laugh loud, stand tall, Five black feathers putting swing on the wall. [Outro - spoken over fading bass] Let the record show, this meeting was musical and mostly orderly. Mostly is generous. Generous got a pretty sound. I carried the rhythm. You carried risk. Same pocket. Ha! Call Street Shuffle, Don’t you scuffle, Move that trouble With a little jazz shuffle. And check the wire first.