Track 2 of the album Give the Morning Another Try · 2022
The Crowd Is My Orchestra at Five Past Five
“Five past five, the lights go green, and a thousand umbrellas become our audience. Imogen conducts the crossing.”
operatic pop · operatic pop · city pop · 3:51
Lyrics
Five past five and the lights go green A thousand umbrellas, a thousand shoes Briefcase violins, bicycle bells Every one is playing the evening news The tram doors hiss like a cymbal brush A taxi horn plays a perfect fifth Footsteps tapping in sixteenth notes I'm the conductor and I'm swept up in it Raise your hand, count it in Here we go, let it begin The crowd is my orchestra at five past five Every step in time and the whole street alive Strings of scarves and brass of buses Percussion in the rain Rush hour, rush hour, play it once again The crowd is my orchestra, the city is the stage And I am marching home on the glow of the page A busker takes the bridge in G Pigeons form a feathered choir A baker sells the last warm loaf And the sunset sets the street on fire Raise your hand, count it in Here we go, let it begin The crowd is my orchestra at five past five Every step in time and the whole street alive Strings of scarves and brass of buses Percussion in the rain Rush hour, rush hour, play it once again The crowd is my orchestra, the city is the stage And I am marching home on the glow of the page Pause, one beat The whole street holds its breath Then the crossing signal sings And we all move on The crowd is my orchestra at five past five Every step in time and the whole street alive Strings of scarves and brass of buses Percussion in the rain Rush hour, rush hour, play it once again The crowd is my orchestra, the city is the stage And I am marching home, and the last note fades Marching home