Tony Chiado

I was sitting in one of the dimly lit brutalist halls – which one it was has faded from my memory – on the University of Washington campus in the Summer of 2015. The grad student teaching Geography of Cities (GEOG 277) had assigned homework for us to bring forward a song that explored urban geography in some way. Whatever popped into my mind, it was dwarfed by the Pacific Northwest History course – my favorite course as an undergraduate at UW – I had 15 minutes or so to get to.

When I emailed my teacher later that evening with a song that had come to mind, I didn’t think much of it. I liked the song, but it was mostly about completing the assignment. I chose Joe Metro by the Blue Scholars, two artists (Geo and Sabzi) who met at UW in the decade before I went there. The next day, the music video was up on the board when I walked through the door. As class started, she talked about how the 48 Bus told a story about the city on its (former) route from Mount Baker to Loyal Heights, taking MLK Way to the U-District before heading west (these days, the route stops in the U-District). I saw it, better then than when I offered it up for credit.

Throughout the song, the bus serves as a moving stage, ushering up the different people that make up the city:

Citizens walkin’ off the Joe Metropolitan
Proletariats and wayward sons
With old Filipino men speakin’ in they native tongue
And the day is just begun
Greeted by the scent of a bum
Smelling something like beer, barf, and dung
A brother in repose in the back all alone
Marinatin’ in a pair of half-broken headphones
Mumbling rhymes
Same time begin to pen mine
Appreciating God’s design
Rewind sister
Reminds me of a smile in the back of my memory
Wonder if I’ll see her again
Will she remember me?
I’m not tryin’ to holler, I swear
I’m just weary of the way we hop a ride and just sit there and stare.
Prepare for my nine o’ clock work meeting
…
In walks an old soul
A First Nation native, cat’s chiseled like a totem pole
No words, as he stands and looks over us
He gets off and says, “Have a good day, you foreigners.”
I, crack a smile one time for the acknowledgement
Northbound, now we start to pick up more college kids
They try to study on the ride
To make up for the fact that they probably kicked it hard last night

Joe Metro by the Blue Scholars

There’s something about the recognition of Seattle’s many different people that echoes Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” The bus, like Whitman’s idealized American vision, is an egalitarian space and Geo speaks to that. That’s really the promise of the bus, isn’t it? It speaks to America’s loftiest ideals of offering access to opportunity and liberty.

The song also speaks to Seattle’s built environment soon after, painting the window-framed landscape. Geo sees a city in transition, remembering the past and perhaps upset with the present and future state, but not refusing it.

North of Martin Luther King, a straight war zone
Detours through the concrete, cranes, and bulldozers
No, the Hill is not over still
Every block got a coffee shop; it’s overkill
Focus, know the deal
…
Now we headed downtown to trade our labor for cash
I thank the navigator once and walk fast
I walk past the next round of cats to jump on it
Locked in deep thought, we ride around in silence
And cross Rizal Bridge

Joe Metro by the Blue Scholars

In the 17 years since the song was recorded, Seattle’s population has grown by 27%. The constant state of construction referenced above has become a cornerstone of Seattle’s built environment.

But perhaps my favorite part of the song is when Geo considers getting a car for the convenience. Here, he makes clear the case for the value of a bus beyond transportation: shared spaces. Sacrificing that human experience isn’t worth it to him. A beautiful commitment to community.

And I ponder if it’s time to save up and get a car
And pay for the gas that we’re takin’ from the war
I’d miss all the colorful faces, the places, and spaces I’ve embraced with
The faith that I can rest and raise kids here

Joe Metro by the Blue Scholars

Libaries, schools, parks, and buses: these are some of the egalitarian spaces we share in society. These spaces humanize people who don’t look like us. It promotes a healthier society. There’s beauty in riding the bus as it fills with the many faces that make up a city. One gains a new lease on life.

Has any other song so beautifully captured the promise of the public bus? Yet alone in the city of Seattle?