Song Lyrics

The Rally
© Sandy Rapp 1994

I went to THE RALLY, a wonderful rally
The air of a carnival was strong.
Balloons were in hand, and buttons on stands.
The risers were rising the banners were flying.

The stage was completed in beige metal seating
When out of the grandstand came a song.
For the band was playin' ragtime,
And we hadn't heard that for so long.

A horrible squeaking came over the speakers
The sound of a sound-check filled the air.
The speeches began, much as they were planned,
Aimed at the reporters in strict running orders.

When over the catwalk, way up in the scaffolds,
A luminous whirling disk appeared.
Ah, but the band kept playing ragtime.
And I hadn't heard this stuff in years.

Oh, the horns were loud,
and God, there was a crowd.

The night we hit the critical mass,
The sound it made was shattering glass.
Bells issued tones, more or less on their own,
The hype and the flurry, the sound and the fury.

The night we hit the critical mass
The longest days were over at last.
Still, with the band a-playin' ragtime,
Well somehow it all got past.

Imagine following the band just when the New Age was at hand.

But I stayed at THE RALLY, that wondrous rally,
And at daybreak the past events came clear.
The moons and the suns, the roses and guns,
The musings of mystics, the cruising of crystals.

The day we made the critical glow,
The axis jerked a little, ya know.
Now, there's a new twist on the old spin.
And the world's gotta spin ya know.

The night we hit the critical mass,
The sound it made was shattering glass
Bells issued tones, more or less on their own
The hype and the flurry, the sound and the fury.

That day we made the critical sum
In feedback and electrical hum.
Now when the band starts playin' ragtime,
The world's gonna dance to a different drum.

The night we hit the critical mass,
That day we made the optimal sum.
Now, when the band starts playin' ragtime,
The world's gonna dance to different drum.

Sandy Rapp

The duration of The Rally is 6:19 minutes and seconds.