Before Anybody Turned the Volume Up (741 Hz)

[Intro] [Crowd chanting] TURN IT UP! TURN IT UP! [Bard] Oh, now you want it loud? [Crowd cheers] Funny. Where were all of you when I was talking to chairs? [Laughter] Two boots. Two hands. You know it now. STOMP-STOMP / CLAP-CLAP Again. STOMP-STOMP / CLAP-CLAP [Band drops in] [Verse 1] He had chalk on his hands Before light hit the lens Told the same damn stories To a room with no friends Empty chairs, blank wall Still gave everything Called it practice every night So waiting wouldn't sting Bought a little microphone Before anybody came Said the words like every empty seat Already knew his name Didn't need a crowd To tell him words were true— He just kept the door cracked open Till somebody wandered through [Pre-Chorus] Nobody sees the quiet When the noise finally comes Nobody hears the thousand nights Before the first big one [Chorus] [Bard] Before anybody turned the volume up— [Crowd] TURN IT UP! [Bard] He was already saying it! Before anybody gave a damn— [Crowd] WE GIVE A DAMN! [Bard] He already meant it! You can call it luck If you walked in when it got loud— But the voice was in the room Before there ever was a crowd [Crowd] TURN IT UP! [Verse 2 — Melodic Rap] Different room, Same throat, Better lights, Same notes Little more dust On the case and coat Little less fear When the back door opens Funny what happens When the seats start filling Everybody loves the climb When the climb starts winning Nobody asks 'bout the nights You'd finish one more take Then drive home wondering How long belief can stay awake Now somebody in the front Knows every damn refrain Somebody in the back Got the words before the name And the singer hears them singing Something he once sang alone— That's when an empty room Stops feeling like a home [Pre-Chorus] Nobody sees the quiet When the noise finally comes Nobody hears the thousand nights Before the first big one [Chorus] [Bard] Before anybody turned the volume up— [Crowd] TURN IT UP! [Bard] I was already saying it— [Band abruptly stops] [Room reacts] [Bard] ... Well, shit. [Crowd laughter] There goes that pronoun again. [Band resumes] Before anybody gave a damn— [Crowd] WE GIVE A DAMN! [Bard] Yeah. I already meant it. You can call it luck If you walked in when it got loud— But the voice was in the room Before there ever was a crowd [Bridge] [Acoustic guitar only] There's an old recording somewhere Nobody would've saved A younger fool talking like The room was already packed No applause No numbers No proof coming back Just a voice saying— "This matters." And believing that was enough [Silence] [One audience member starts] STOMP-STOMP / CLAP-CLAP [Another joins] STOMP-STOMP / CLAP-CLAP [Whole room joins] STOMP-STOMP / CLAP-CLAP [Bard laughs] You remembered. [Full band crashes in] [Final Chorus] Before anybody turned the volume up— [Crowd] TURN IT UP! [Bard] I was already saying it! Before anybody knew the words— [Crowd] WE KNOW 'EM NOW! [Bard] I already meant 'em! Call it luck Call it timing Call it anything you want But don't confuse the people hearing With the day the voice was born [All] TURN IT UP! TURN IT UP! [Bard] Nah. Keep it right there. For once... I can hear you.