[Intro: Big-band swing female lead, bright brass section, full band] Hit it [Verse 1: Big-band swing female lead, belted, fast swing drums] Twenty-two years with a baton in my hand Ninety kids in a cramped old room I call the band Trombones in the hallway and the tubas in the gym Saxophones in closets, snare drums stacked up to the brim Then a letter from the council on a Tuesday afternoon Says the music's gone by Christmas and the cuts are comin' soon I could write a little letter, I could cry into my coat Or I could give the city every last and loudest note [Chorus: Big-band swing female lead, full power, bright brass] You can't cut what's already playing You can't stop a band that's already swaying Bring your scissors and your rules and what you're saying You can't cut what's already playing [Verse 2: Big-band swing female lead, belted, walking bass] So we lined up in the parking lot at seven on the dot Every horn and every drum and every kid we've got Three miles down the avenue we played the whole way through Grandmas on the sidewalk and the bus drivers too Set up on the city hall steps at a quarter after eight Councilmen inside were votin' on our final fate And we played so loud the windows shook in every single frame And the mayor stuck his head out and he asked us for our name [Chorus: Big-band swing female lead, full power, bright brass] You can't cut what's already playing You can't stop a band that's already swaying Bring your scissors and your rules and what you're saying You can't cut what's already playing [Bridge: Big-band swing female lead, scat break over the full band] Ba da doo bah, skee bop da doo wah Ba da doo bah, skee bop da doo wah Doo wah ba dee, skee bop bop bah Ba da doo bah, skee bop da doo wah [Verse 3: Big-band swing female lead, belted, fast swing drums] Then out walks Ray Okoro, the man who wrote the cut Tie around his collar and his briefcase buttoned shut I knew him in a second, he was sixteen in my class First chair on the trumpet with a tone like broken glass So I handed him a horn and said Ray, you know the tune And he played it on the steps like he was sixteen in June Then he walked back in that meeting with the brass still in his hand And he changed his vote to keep us, and the mayor joined the band [Chorus: Big-band swing female lead, full power, bright brass] You can't cut what's already playing You can't stop a band that's already swaying Bring your scissors and your rules and what you're saying You can't cut what's already playing [End]
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