The Lip

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Down on the Mississippi River in a midnight dive I met a trumpet playing character and man alive When he began to play, he really did it from the hip And when I asked about his name, they told me, "It's 'The Lip'" No one plays high notes like The Lip [Verse 2] He's got a tone that's reminiscent of a guy named Bix He plays so high that only dogs can hear him, just for kicks And when I asked if he could read, he said, "Ah, just a little bit Ah, however, not enough to hurt my playing or my lip" No one plays high notes like The Lip [Verse 3] I've heard him play below the staff and he can go quite low But he's much more at home in altissimo And when he plays way up high where he can really shine Seems he really likes to make it with those ledger lines No one plays high notes like The Lip [Instrumental Break] [Scatting] [Instrumental Break] [Verse 4] I heard him playin' great one night when he was blowin' lead He played so fine the other trumpet players' chops would bleed He played so strong and he played high and he blew all night long All of the other players fainted while The Lip played on No one plays high notes like The Lip [Verse 5] I never heard a trumpet player play a note so high I had to coax a lot before The Lip would tell me why Then he took out a little jar that's labeled "High-Note Grease" And he would rub a little every night on his mouthpiece That's the secret of The Lip [Outro] No one plays high notes like The Lip Nobody plays high notes like The Lip, nobody I've looked all over, I don't find anybody I'm looking everywhere, nobody