Downstairs they're playing Kenton, the house set to swing
Lay in my bed and listen to everything
'Cause Leo's in rare form tonight, his trombone sings so sweet
This is the room where they all come to meet He said, "I do what I can, I live for the moment
And that's who I am, yeah, that's who I am
And isn't it good, if we could freeze moments in time
We all would, I do what I can, do what I can" Downstairs he's playing Kenton, the Magnavox sighs
And, oh, how the music has changed in all of our lives
He says "Nobody listens to modern jazz
And I'll never have what those guys have" And he says "I do what I can, I work for a living
And that's who I am, yeah, that's who I am
And it's good to be alive but everything's different
Since Leo died, I do what I can" Is this the end of the modern world? What could it mean for a young girl?
Who sees the pain on his face, he does what he can
The procession on the TV screen, what could it possibly mean?
For a man who's come this far just to turn around Could there still be life in Kenton's swing?
With the Kennedy's gone and everything
Those sad rows of houses with their optimistic colors
Democrat grandparents and draft-dodging brothers
Riots down the street and discontented mothers
We do what we can Downstairs it's quiet, less alive somehow
Somehow he was everything that I am now And he says "I do what I can, I work for a living
And that's who I am, that's who I am
But it's good to be alive and these are the choices
We make to survive, do what you can"