[Verse 1: Drumline male MC, crisp drumline-rap flow over a full marching drumline] Big Rome had a whistle and a voice like a truck Six-foot-five in a shako and he never needed luck Thirty falls of Friday nights he led us out under the lights Mace up high and knees up higher, every snare was cuttin' tight Taught me how to hold the sticks and how to stand up in the heat Taught me drumline doesn't tiptoe, drumline's made to fill the street Said if you're gonna miss it, son, you better miss it with a crack Big Rome never played it timid and he never turned his back July he fell asleep in his chair and he didn't wake August we were practicin' with nobody at the gate [Hook: Drumline male MC, full drumline, huge drumline-rap hook] Mark time with your knees up, drumline, hold the line Big Rome taught us cadence, now we play it one more time They can ask us to be quiet, they can bow their heads and wait Mark time, mark time, we're too loud to hesitate [Verse 2: Drumline male MC, angrier, drumline bars on the snare] First home game the announcer clears his throat into the mic Says a moment of silence for a man we all liked Fifteen thousand people standin', every cap held to the chest And the only sound is flags above the stand that never rest And I'm standin' by the fence with my snare against my thigh Thinkin' Rome would hate this quiet, Rome would look us in the eye Say what is this, a library, you're a drumline, make some noise So I clicked my sticks three times, and I looked back at the boys [Bridge: Drumline male MC, mace toss, the drums stop as the mace flies up into the lights, one rimshot when the new drum major catches it, then the full line crashes in] Little Marcus took his mace and sent it spinnin' at the lights Every head came up from prayin', every eye went to the height Caught it clean behind his back, and the whole line came alive [Verse 3: Drumline male MC, full drumline, triumphant drumline-rap flow] Snares on fire, tenors rollin', bass drums like a freight Fifteen thousand people stompin', you could feel the bleachers shake Cadence twenty-one, his favorite, the one he wrote in pen We played it till the refs walked off, and then we played it again That's the loudest moment of silence this town has ever heard And Rome, if you were listenin', we didn't drop a word [Final Hook: Drumline male MC, full drumline, huge drumline-rap hook] Mark time with your knees up, drumline, hold the line Big Rome taught us cadence, now we play it one more time They can ask us to be quiet, they can bow their heads and wait Mark time, mark time, we're too loud to hesitate [End]
