[Verse 1: Scat-singing jazz rap male MC, swung and sharp over walking upright bass and ride cymbal] Ba-dee-bop, I'm the tune that he heard in the corner cafe He set his coffee down and said "That isn't how you play" Said a song like me don't count, said nobody ever bled Then he hummed me to the bus stop with me ringin' in his head Hummed me up the stairs, and then he hummed me in the shower Hummed me through a meetin' for the best part of an hour Caught himself at dinner, put his fork down on the plate Told his wife "That tune is garbage," then he hummed it while he ate Wrote a letter to the paper, every word of it in pen Said "Ban it from the radio," so they played me again Skee-dee, uncle, every time you print my name That's a poster with my title, and I thank you for the frame [Hook: Scat MC, horn section stabs on every line] Go on and knock it, paint it on a sign Carry it to the square and chant it one more time Funny how your protest got a melody like mine You keep puttin' me down, but you can't put me down [Verse 2: Scat MC, tighter, horns punchin' the gaps, swung drums pounding] Saturday he's organized, a dozen in a line Cardboard and a megaphone, a slogan on a sign But a march ain't worth a nickel if the people won't repeat So he needed somethin' catchy you could stomp out on the street Friday night he's pacin' with a pencil and a pad Tryin' every tune he knew, and every one was bad Tried a hymn, tried a jingle, tried the anthem of the state Then he found one in his pocket that was sittin' there in wait Wrote the words himself, and he was proud of every line But he hummed it while he wrote it, and the tune he hummed was mine [Hook: Scat MC, horn section stabs on every line, ride cymbal wide open] Go on and knock it, paint it on a sign Carry it to the square and chant it one more time Funny how your protest got a melody like mine You keep puttin' me down, but you can't put me down [Verse 3: Scat MC, melody match, his protest chant sung on the hook melody, horn section playing it with him] Noon outside the record show, a dozen on the curb He lifts up the megaphone to sing his brand new words "Turn it off, it isn't real, give us music made by hand" Every note of it is mine, and he don't understand Folks inside the record show come runnin' to the glass Think it's a parade for me, they're clappin' as they pass Three towns he took that march, and every town, he sang me true Ba-dee-bop, uncle, I never had a fan like you Now he's on the evenin' news with the megaphone up high Teachin' my hook to the city, and he never asks me why [Hook: Scat MC, full horn section, everything in] Go on and knock it, paint it on a sign Carry it to the square and chant it one more time Funny how your protest got a melody like mine You keep puttin' me down, but you can't put me down [Outro: Scat MC, scat fills over the walking bass] Skee-dee-bop, go on, uncle, hum it on your own [End]
