Rift Over the Lake - The Nabob Band (3 Song Variations)

[Rift Over the Lake] (C) Copyright Bill Buckels 2026. All Rights Reserved. Select song by clicking on its start time (Chapter) below: 00:00:00 Rift Over the Lake 00:03:12 Rift Over the Lake Country 1 00:07:16 Rift Over the Lake Chordified 2 00:11:13 Total Running Time [Lyrics] [Style: Crotch rock, swaggering hard rock, key of E flat, loud distorted electric guitars, power chord riffs, lead guitar solo, thumping bass, pounding drums, 130 BPM, gritty Male Vocal, gang vocals on chorus] [Prompt: A strutting crotch rock song at 130 BPM in the key of E flat, built on loud distorted electric guitar riffs and power chords, thumping bass and big pounding drums, with a screaming lead guitar solo in the instrumental break. The lead vocal is a gritty, swaggering male rock singer who snarls the story through the verses, then belts an anthemic fist-pumping chorus backed by shouted gang vocals. The song has four verses, three choruses, one bridge and one instrumental break, and the last chorus begins stripped back to voices and drums before the full band crashes back in. It tells the story of old Cal, a lakeside volunteer who writes to the people in power about a waste permit by the water and then calls every election candidate down to the lake to answer the voters plainly.] [Intro] [Bb] [Ab] [Bb] [Cm] [Cm] [Ab] [Eb] [Bb] [Verse 1] [Bb]At the [Eb]bait shop door [Bb]by the map of the [Eb]lake [Ab]old Cal [Eb]pinned up a [Ab]hand-lettered [Bb]date. "Bring [Ab]every [Eb]candidate, [Bb]let 'em take [Cm]the floor [Ab]If you want [Eb]our vote, [Bb]tell us what [Eb]it's for." [Eb] [Verse 2] [Ab]He'd written [Eb]weeks before, [Bb]polite [Cm]as can be [Ab]"Please fight [Eb]that [Bb]permit by the waterline." [Ab]Then [Eb]one last [Bb]sentence, [Cm]underlined [Ab]twice the voters will remember come election night [Ab] [Eb] [Chorus] Come [Ab]down to the [Bb]lake, come [Eb]answer us plain Who'll [Ab]stand with the [Bb]water when the [Eb]trucks bring the waste You can [Ab]shake every [Bb]hand, you can [Cm]smile for the [Ab]crowd But we'll [Ab]remember what [Eb]you did when the ballots come 'round [Eb] [Eb] [Verse 3] [Eb]He said, "I like the work [Ab]you've done, I hope [Eb]you win [Ab]again," then [Eb]folded up [Bb]the letter and addressed it to [Eb]them A kind word in [Ab]the middle, a [Eb]warning at [Ab]the end [Eb]Old Cal knew a [Bb]neighbor's still a [Eb]neighbor, and a voter's still [Ab]a friend [Verse 4] [Eb]Now [Bb]folding chairs are [Cm]set beside [Ab]the launch [Eb]The lake [Bb]keeps lapping at the [Ab]cedar posts [Eb]Each hopeful [Bb]has a minute, [Cm]each [Ab]resident a name, and [Bb]nobody gets to duck the question today [Bb] [Chorus] Come down to the lake, come answer us plain Who'll stand with the water when the trucks bring the waste You can shake every hand, you can smile for the crowd But we'll remember what you did when the ballots come 'round [Bridge] [Cm]No grand [Ab]speech, [Eb]no polished [Cm]phrase. Just a shoreline [Bb]kept for another [Cm]day Cal takes his [Ab]seat, his old [Eb]coat buttoned [Ab]tight The lake [Bb]is in the room tonight [Bb] [Instrumental] [Eb] [Ab] [Bb] [Eb] [Eb] [Ab] [Bb] [Eb] [Eb] [Ab] [Bb] [Cm] [Ab] [Ab] [Bb] [Bb] [Chorus] [Voices and drums only on the first two lines, full band returns on the third] Yeah. Come down to the lake, come answer us plain Who'll stand with the water when the trucks bring the waste You can shake every hand, you can smile for the crowd But we'll remember what you did when the ballots come 'round Yes, [Ab]we'll remember [Bb]what you did when the ballots [Eb]come 'round [Eb] [Outro] [Ab]By the [Eb]bait shop [Bb]door as the [Cm]last chairs scrape [Ab]old Cal [Bb]watches the candidates [Eb]face the [Ab]lake [Bb] [Eb] [Eb] [Ab] [Bb] [Eb] [Eb] [Ab] [Bb] [Eb] [Pause] [End]