The music from the radio, glowing in the dark Echoed round his head, before it settled in his heart The words were not important if the melody was right That radio could burn, burn, burn, all through the night The people are gonna rise up to their feet When they hear the rhythm king They're gonna get so caught up in the beat They'll forget about everything He can take them places where their hearts have never been No one else can swing like the rhythm king, oh yeah Like the rhythm king High above Manhattan, in a satin finished room He searches through an unmade bed, and finds a perfect fool He can redesign the present, but he cannot hide his fears The mirror won't disguise the lines, from all the wasted years The people are gonna rise up to their feet When they hear the rhythm king They're gonna get so caught up in the beat They'll forget about everything He can take them places where their hearts have never been No one else can swing like the rhythm king, oh yeah Like the rhythm king So many listen, come to hear the thunder roar Now that he's the meantime, they keep calling out for more He plays away his feelings, then he moves to overdrive The crowd are his disciples, and he needs them to survive They're keeping him alive The people are gonna rise up to their feet When they hear the rhythm king They're gonna get so caught up in the beat They'll forget about everything He can take them places where their hearts have never been No one else can swing like the rhythm king, oh yeah Like the rhythm king