Out in the streets of the city tonight
(The asphalt badlands of Manhattan)
Enter and shatter the pool of light
(The apocalypse is ready to happen)
You hear the best tunes in the strangest of places
(The tunes you thought would vanish away)
You see the best times in the old friends’ faces
(Those great times that could never stay)
Whispering across an echo chamber
(I can hear it clearly in the dark)
To be strange is to be a stranger
(Listen to the lovers in the park)
Tonight we pretend that we never got older
(Stagnation comes with age)
That the romantic in all of us never got colder
(It ain’t just a temporary stage)
Recapture all the love we lost
(Boy finally gets girl)
And walk away without paying the cost
(There’s a justice in this world)
The power is all in your hands so use it
(If anyone says it can’t be done)
Take over the world with rock’n’roll music
(Don’t you believe a single one)
From Boston to Brooklyn to the Jersey Shore
(Up and down the northeast)
The gang ain’t gonna sit quiet no more
(And that’s to say the very least)
The seeds that were sown in 1983
(Not just another graduating class)
Are full grown and ready to attack NYC
(We’re gonna kick some ass)
Some with motorbikes and some with cars
(Driving down the road together)
Some with drums and piano and guitars
(C’mon y’all shake your tailfeather)
Out in the streets of the city tonight
(To the tune of the power chord)
Open your eyes and you will see the light
(Stay in the service of the Lord)
Send our message through call and response
(That rock’n’roll is here to stay)
Make our voices heard for once
(We’re here and we ain’t going away)
It’s a losing game but we’ll win anyhow
(We’ll just do the things that we want to)
It’s gonna burst into a beat any second now
(Rock’n’roll dreams come true)
You know Frankie ought to be shot for doing Born To Run
(Because they turned the holy profane)
And we’ll put the knife on the edge of the gun
(Then real rock’n’roll will reign)
Music to dance to and to flip and fly high
(To never again take a backseat)
Music to conjure with and be overpowered by
(To fall into the rhythm of your heartbeat)
Music to the ears that wanna hear the real thing
(We’re gonna play ‘em all our songs)
And on top of the world we’re gonna be the kings
(We’re movin’ on up and we’ll get there before long)
We’re gonna be the kings (Kings of the music)
We’re gonna be the kings (Kings of soul)
We’re gonna be the kings (Kings of the city)
We’re gonna be the kings (Of rock’n’roll!)
©2023 The Hesh Inc./Reality Shock Music Inc.
I graduated high school (Ohr Yerushalayim in Jerusalem, Israel) in June 1983, 40 years ago at the time of this posting, capping an epic year that I consider the greatest of my mandatory education. I did not want to let go of my friends and the great times that I had that year, but life does go on and so do all of one's friends when time comes. Several years later, during the last months of my military service, I found myself walking the streets of the neighborhood where my old high school campus had been (it had since moved to a different town), and I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by memories and maudlin emotions. I wrote several songs after that experience (this one, that one, and the other one) and the one above, in which I looked forward to getting everyone together for a reunion, in New York City, on a scale as epic as our senior year itself. Forty years on and with everyone scattered across several continents, a physical reunion is not likely, but technology has advanced to the point where an online reunion may be feasible.
I began the lyric myself and completed it with the assistance of my musical partner and fellow alumnus, Izzy Kieffer. Musically, I was thinking of something anthemic and triumphant like Lou Reed's "Doing the Things That We Want To." So far the song hasn't been recorded or performed, but I may remedy that situation should a reunion actually begin to take shape.
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