They filed him under novelty
Back in 1953
How could we know way back then
He’d make us love the world again?
Making spirits soar
From an unmarked score
He didn’t play a note, but man, that note he didn’t play you never heard before
Hail Monsieur Marcel Marsalis
New horizons in modern silence
Ladies, come and kiss the callus
Men, raise a chalice
To Marcel Marsalis
«Quietude» hit number three
The day he sold out Carnegie
A shot rang out from off the stage
The murderous rage of Johnny Cage
He continued to play
He’s still playing today
Now every yahoo in Nebraska digs the avant-garde thanks to the late Marcel
Hail Monsieur Marcel Marsalis
Highbrow classes and low-life masses
All lined up to kiss the callus
And they’ll raise a chalice
To Marcel Marsalis