before the parade passes by i m gonna go and taste saturday s high life before the parade passes by i m gonna get some life back into my life i m ready to move out in front i ve had enough of just passing by life with the rest of them with the best of them i m gonna hold my head up high for i ve got a goal again i ve got a drive again i m gonna feel my heart comin alive again before the parade passes by look at that crowd up ahead listen and hear that brass harmony growing look at that crowd up ahead pardon me if my old spirit is showing all of those lights over there seem to be tellin me where i m going when the whistles blow and the cymbals crash and the sparklers light the sky i m gonna raise the roof i m gonna to carry on give me an old trombone give me an old baton before the parade passes by