Sidewalk Keeps the Time

Late-night jazz-funk hip-hop built from human beatbox, 80 BPM half-time pocket, warm upright or rubbery electric bass, dry boom-bap drums, brushed snare accents, wah guitar, Rhodes piano, muted trumpet fills, walking-city groove, spoken-sung rap verses, soulful melodic chorus, playful but cinematic, organic live-band feel, smoky urban jazz-club atmosphere, tight syncopation, call-and-response backing vocals, catchy hook

[soft Rhodes enters, one smoky chord]
Yeah
City’s still awake
Listen

[Verse 1]

[spoken-sung rap, laid-back jazz pocket]
No horn in my hand
No keys in my coat
Just a rhythm in my teeth
And a bassline in my throat

Streetlight blinking
Like it knows the score
One blink for the kick
Two taps for the door

Taxi hissed by
With a cymbal splash
Loose change jumping
In a coffee-can crash

I kept walking
Past the closed-down sign
And the sidewalk
Kept time

[small muted trumpet fill]

[Pre-Chorus]

[wah guitar scratches, soft backing vocals answer]
Step left

[backing vocals: step left]
Step right

[backing vocals: step right]
Moon low

[backing vocals: moon low]
Shoes light

[backing vocals: shoes light]
No band
No stage
Just the city
Turning the page

[Chorus]
[soulful hook, fuller bass, claps tucked behind beat]
The sidewalk keeps time
When the night won’t sleep
Every little sound
Got a pocket this deep

The sidewalk keeps time
And the neon leans
I make one small beat
And the whole block sings

[drums enter tighter, upright bass walking around the groove]
Diner cook laughing
At a quarter past two
Fork on a plate
Going ding-ding-boom

Steam from the grate
Made a ghost in the street
Started dancing sideways
To the sound of my feet

Train down below
Had a low brass moan
Like a tired old trombone
Trying to find its way home

I gave it a rhythm
It gave me a rhyme
And the sidewalk
Kept time

[muted trumpet answers the vocal]

[Pre-Chorus 2]
[call and response grows more confident]
Step left

[backing vocals: step left]
Step right

[backing vocals: step right]
Smoke curls

[backing vocals: smoke curls]
Bass bites

[backing vocals: bass bites]
No band
No stage
Just the city
Turning the page

[Chorus]
[bigger vocal, funky guitar and Rhodes comping]
The sidewalk keeps time
When the night won’t sleep
Every little sound
Got a pocket this deep

The sidewalk keeps time
And the neon leans
I make one small beat
And the whole block sings

[Bridge]
[breakdown: beatbox, finger snaps, bass only]

[half-spoken, intimate]
A bottle rolls
A dog chain shakes
A red light hums
And the old rail aches

[add soft backing vocals, smoky and low]
Who needs a drum
When the street can swing?
Who needs a choir
When the windows sing?

[Instrumental Break]

[muted trumpet solo over beatbox groove]

[Rhodes comps softly, bass gets playful]

[wah guitar answers trumpet phrases]

[keep beatbox audible under the band]

[Final Chorus]
[full band, warm soulful lift, group vocals]
The sidewalk keeps time
When the night won’t sleep
Every little sound
Got a pocket this deep

The sidewalk keeps time
And the neon leans
I make one small beat
And the whole block sings

The sidewalk keeps time
From the curb to the sky
Even lonely little sounds
Get together sometimes

The sidewalk keeps time
And the neon leans
I make one small beat
And the whole block sings
The sidewalk keeps time

[raw beatbox alone]
Still awake
Still swinging

[soft Rhodes enters, one smoky chord]
Yeah

2978/7500

[soft Rhodes enters, one smoky chord] Yeah City’s still awake Listen [Verse 1] [spoken-sung rap, laid-back jazz pocket] No horn in my hand No keys in my coat Just a rhythm in my teeth And a bassline in my throat Streetlight blinking Like it knows the score One blink for the kick Two taps for the door Taxi hissed by With a cymbal splash Loose change jumping In a coffee-can crash I kept walking Past the closed-down sign And the sidewalk Kept time [small muted trumpet fill] [Pre-Chorus] [wah guitar scratches, soft backing vocals answer] Step left [backing vocals: step left] Step right [backing vocals: step right] Moon low [backing vocals: moon low] Shoes light [backing vocals: shoes light] No band No stage Just the city Turning the page [Chorus] [soulful hook, fuller bass, claps tucked behind beat] The sidewalk keeps time When the night won’t sleep Every little sound Got a pocket this deep The sidewalk keeps time And the neon leans I make one small beat And the whole block sings [drums enter tighter, upright bass walking around the groove] Diner cook laughing At a quarter past two Fork on a plate Going ding-ding-boom Steam from the grate Made a ghost in the street Started dancing sideways To the sound of my feet Train down below Had a low brass moan Like a tired old trombone Trying to find its way home I gave it a rhythm It gave me a rhyme And the sidewalk Kept time [muted trumpet answers the vocal] [Pre-Chorus 2] [call and response grows more confident] Step left [backing vocals: step left] Step right [backing vocals: step right] Smoke curls [backing vocals: smoke curls] Bass bites [backing vocals: bass bites] No band No stage Just the city Turning the page [Chorus] [bigger vocal, funky guitar and Rhodes comping] The sidewalk keeps time When the night won’t sleep Every little sound Got a pocket this deep The sidewalk keeps time And the neon leans I make one small beat And the whole block sings [Bridge] [breakdown: beatbox, finger snaps, bass only] [half-spoken, intimate] A bottle rolls A dog chain shakes A red light hums And the old rail aches [add soft backing vocals, smoky and low] Who needs a drum When the street can swing? Who needs a choir When the windows sing? [Instrumental Break] [muted trumpet solo over beatbox groove] [Rhodes comps softly, bass gets playful] [wah guitar answers trumpet phrases] [keep beatbox audible under the band] [Final Chorus] [full band, warm soulful lift, group vocals] The sidewalk keeps time When the night won’t sleep Every little sound Got a pocket this deep The sidewalk keeps time And the neon leans I make one small beat And the whole block sings The sidewalk keeps time From the curb to the sky Even lonely little sounds Get together sometimes The sidewalk keeps time And the neon leans I make one small beat And the whole block sings The sidewalk keeps time [raw beatbox alone] Still awake Still swinging [soft Rhodes enters, one smoky chord] Yeah

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