I know a fool that blows the horn He came from way down south I ain't heard such blowin' since I was born When that trombone's in his mouth He wails and moans He grunts and groans He moans just like a cow Nobody else can do his stuff For he won't teach them how Oh Cholly, blow that thing That slide trombone Make it talk, make it sing Lawdy, where did you get that tone? If Gabriel knows how you could blow He'll let you lead his band, I know Oh Cholly, blow that thing Play that slide trombone Oh Cholly, do you know You blow the horn That's other way in to unfrow When you carrying on You way in sings at shaking his leg When I'll hawing to your lips Oh Cholly, blow that thing That slide trombone Oh Cholly, make it sing That slide trombone You'll even make a king Get down off his throne And he would break a leg, I know A-doin' the charleston while you blow Oh Cholly Green, play that thing I mean that slide trombone

From way back here on the bandstand, She looked like a goddess in the lights, At some point in the set she'd turn Her face and glance my way most nights, I'd take a little solo, I'd play for her, she'd smile, return the favor, I'd make the sweetest love to her with every semiquaver. "There's a sadness in your playing," she said, "That penetrates my bones, Something in your intonation, something in your tone, Always understated, never overblown, My name for you is Sad Trombone. Yes, my name for you is Sad Trombone." It seemed like she'd found the secret key to my soul, And gathered up my broken life and somehow made me whole, We'd share a room together, my bandmates were all green, And they warned me 'bout some story in a movie they'd all seen. "There's a sadness in your playing," she said, "That penetrates my bones, Something in your intonation, something in your tone, Always understated, never overblown, My name for you is Sad Trombone. Yes, my name for you is Sad Trombone." Now when the light goes out and the Music stops and the curtains close, That's when your heartbeat race, Sadness on your face, and you can't take no more. I see you searching for your smile, We haven't seen that in a while, Now when the light goes out and the Music stops and the curtains close, That's Sad Trombone. We never made much money, the ticket counts were light, We'd count the bars until we reached some hotel for the night, She was my morning coffee, the butter on my toast, 'Til she got a better offer from some outfit on the coast. Oh, there's a sadness in my playing now, A desperate cry, a moan, Something in my choice of notes, Something in my tone, Sliding to the deepest bass from a lonely baritone, I guess I'll always be the Sad Trombone, I guess I'll always be the Sad Trombone. It's an old, old story, and one you've probably heard, You start out in a major key, then you're down a minor third, Aimlessly sliding, sinking like a stone, It doesn't get no deeper, than the scraps that you've been thrown, But some things they just stay with you, long after they have flown, And it always comes back down... to the bone, And it always comes back down... to the bone, Down to the bone, Down to the bone.

Here we are face to face And greeting on and all Here we stand freedom sounds A echo for so long Forget your troubles Forget your worries Come and jump and dance And make merriment Irie vibrations groovy so groovy Come and jump and dance And make merriment Let's be like one big happy family Sharing the joy that Togetherness will bring Forget your problems Forget for a moment Come and jump and dance And make merriment Feel the spirit Feel the spirit