One Speaker, All Heart

One speaker, all heart
We can make the missing part

Quarter to twelve and the PA dies
House lights up, no kick beneath us
Somebody groans; somebody claps
A second pair of hands believes it
The bar has one small battery speaker
They set it on the table near the booth
He finds the opening piano
We know the song from just two notes

You bring a clap, I'll bring the tune
Pass it round this little room

One speaker, all heart
We can make the missing part
Four hundred voices holding the tune
One little speaker, one whole room

All heart
Hear us now

We hum the low part with our mouths closed
The high part comes from near the back
Somebody taps the table edge
We keep the chorus on its track
Nobody films the broken system
They're looking up to find the words
The box can't fill the room by itself
But everybody in it can be heard

One speaker, all heart
We can make the missing part
Four hundred voices holding the tune
One little speaker, one whole room

The main sound's fixed; the DJ smiles
Then lifts one hand to make it wait
We hear ourselves without the system
And sing the last line on our own

One speaker, all heart
We learned to make the missing part
Now the big sound's back, but hear us through
One little speaker showed us what to do

One speaker, all heart
The room can carry it