Lyrics I Heard The Marching Of The Drum - C.W. Stoneking

I Heard The Marching Of The Drum

Papa played a swingin' horn,
Back once in a dream
Left it underneath the bed,
Shipped outta New Orleans
There’s his picture, it was taken before the war,
He’s singin' from a sheet music score,
«C'mon along,
C’mon along,
Hear the marchin' of the drum»
Out in the heat and the bugs,
Where the Jungle gave way,
Came a whistlin' of bullets,
That carved up the middle of the day
Papa’s eyes is open, but the shutter speed was wrong
All the face is blurred in a song,
«C'mon along,
C’mon along,
Hear the marchin' of the drum»
I heard the marchin' of the drum,
An' it pained my heart,
Heard the marchin' of the drum,
When the church doors swung apart
The horns was gathered on the church steps,
A sound like snakes rose from the clarinets
All along, all along, I heard the marchin' of the drum