The group was part of the "Brooklyn sound" of the early 1970s, formed from three players of the group King Davis House Rockers. The House Rockers were a local dance band who had released a couple of obscure singles (1967's "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes" on Verve Records, 1972's "Rum Punch") The three players (guitarist Richard Thompson, tenor sax player Bill Risbrook, and alto sax player Carlos Ward) formed Madison Street Express along with bassist Louis Risbrook (later Muslim-monickered Jamal Rasool), percussionist Dennis Rowe, drummer Terrell Wood, and vocalist Barbara Wood. They along with producer Jeff Lane signed with production company Roadshow Records to record writer Billy Nichols "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)." The record was shopped around to major labels until it was accepted at Scepter Records. Scepter suggested the group change its name from Madison Street Express, hence the Brooklyn Transit Express. The single was released in August 1974, and reached the top 10. Lane took the group back into the studios at that point to record a second single and pitch a full album to the label. Scepter agreed to the LP and to Roadshow Records having its own label within Scepter Records.
The first two singles were hits, both number 1 R&B releases and both Top 5 pop singles in the US. The album hit number 1 on the R&B album chart and number 5 on the Pop album chart of the US. These recordings were also hits in the spreading disco culture, "Do It" peaking on club playlists before Billboard started a separate disco chart, but the follow-up single sat for five weeks at number 1. They were certified gold releases.
BT Express released an album per year through 1978. With the third album, Leslie Ming was brought in as drummer and keyboardist Michael Jones was added as keyboardist. Jamal, who had converted to the Muslim faith, gave Jones the name Kashif Saleem, which he used after departing the group, in 1979, to pursue producing ("Mighty M Productions" with Morrie Brown and Paul Laurence Jones) and solo recording ventures. That year songwriter Billy Nichols and drummer Leslie Ming also departed the group. In 1976 Scepter records was experiencing business difficulties that soon ended the company, and BT Express was given a distribution deal with Columbia Records, which, though it gave them greater exposure, resulted in less attention being paid to their production, since they had so many acts to concentrate on. The group did not achieve the level of radio or sales success on Columbia that they had on the more nurturing but by-then defunct Scepter. They stayed with Columbia for five years, with Lane producing through 1978, then Nichols producing their fifth album before he departed for solo work, and Morrie Brown producing the sixth LP and several follow-up tracks. The group switched labels to Coast To Coast Records for the 1982 LP, to Earthtone Records for a later 1982 single, and to manager King Davis' own label in 1985.
What You Do in the Dark
B.T. Express Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The tides shall rise and upon midnight he strikes
Jump, jump
Can you picture that
You can beat your God with a baseball bat
Jump, jump
Can you picture that
Jab at the skies with a jagged pike
Spill his guts blind his all-seeing eye
With tears in your eyes, you beg and plead
"oh god not me not I"
Jump, jump
Can you picture that
You can beat your God with a baseball bat
Jump, jump
Can you picture that
You can beat your God with a baseball bat
The lyrics to B.T. Express's song What You Do in the Dark are haunting and introspective. The first two lines immediately set the stage for an intense and violent scene, where a man has been so overcome by fear that he has shed blood. The following lines describe an impending strike, perhaps one of vengeance or retribution. The chorus, "Jump, jump, can you picture that? You can beat your God with a baseball bat," is a powerful statement that challenges the notion of faith and belief in a higher power. The following verses continue the violent imagery, with the singer urging the listener to strike out at the sky and blind the all-seeing eye of God. The final lines, "With tears in your eyes, you beg and plead 'oh God not me, not I'" are a poignant reminder of the human capacity for fear and regret.
Overall, the lyrics to What You Do in the Dark are a commentary on the darker elements of human nature. The violent and religious imagery serves to illustrate the desperation and fear that can consume us, even as we strive for spiritual enlightenment.
Line by Line Meaning
The roads run red with the blood of a man so beyond terrified of his time
A man so scared of his present that the people before him have died, dramatically staining the roads red
The tides shall rise and upon midnight he strikes
At midnight, when the tides are high, he does something important
Jump, jump
An exclamation inviting one to take action
Can you picture that
Can you envision this scenario
You can beat your God with a baseball bat
Illustrating the power that one has, able to go up against the god himself
Jab at the skies with a jagged pike
Attack the heavens with a sharp stick
Spill his guts blind his all-seeing eye
Hurt the god's physical self so badly he can no longer see the world as he used to
With tears in your eyes, you beg and plead
Eyes full of tears, with a voice full of desperation and pain
"oh god not me not I"
The words spoken out of agony, begging to not be next on the list
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Alexander Avak
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind