VERSE 1 (solo piano) First came a man from Clarksdale With sixty years of blues in his hands He said I've been playing since before Most of you learned how to stand Then came a woman from New Orleans With a Hammond and a prayer And the organ breathed in slowly Like it knew something was there PRE-CHORUS (bass enters) We didn't know each other's names We didn't know each other's pain But music has a way of finding Everyone who's riding through the rain CHORUS (drums and organ enter) Nine strangers on a platform Nine voices, nine different roads Nine people with a reason And nine different kinds of load But the music doesn't care Where you started, what you've done Nine strangers on a platform Became nine voices — one VERSE 2 (full rhythm section now) Then came a man from Detroit With a bass that hit like home Said I've been carrying Motown Everywhere I've ever gone Then a Memphis thunder drummer Quiet as a gathered storm And an Appalachian fiddler Playing older than the form PRE-CHORUS A Birmingham trumpet player Whose horn cuts clean and clear A Chicago saxophone That every sleeping city needs to hear A Savannah trombone player The sound of history on the move And a Muscle Shoals slide guitar That lives inside the groove CHORUS (gospel choir enters) Nine strangers on a platform Nine voices, nine different roads Nine people with a reason And nine different kinds of load But the music doesn't care Where you started, what you've done Nine strangers on a platform Became nine voices — one BRIDGE (full gospel, call and response) JACKSON: What do you do when the train don't come? CHOIR: You play JACKSON: What do you do when the road gets long? CHOIR: You play JACKSON: What do you do when the world says stop? CHOIR: You play JACKSON: What do you do when you've given everything? CHOIR: You play — and you don't stop playing FINAL CHORUS (wall of sound, full band, all nine instruments declared) Nine strangers on a platform But we ain't strangers anymore Nine voices in the morning Opening every door The music doesn't care About where you've been or what you've done Nine strangers on a platform Nine voices — one OUTRO By sunrise They weren't strangers anymore. They were the Rail City Band.
