Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
t’s nine o’clock on a saturday,the regular crowd shuffles in.There’s an old man sitting next to me,makin’ love to his tonic and gin.He says, "Son, can you play me a memory? I’m not really sure how it goes,but it’s sad and it’s sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man’s clothes."Sing us a song, you’re the piano man,sing us a song tonight.Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feelin’ alright.Now john at the bar is a friend of mine.He gets me my drinks for free and he’s quick with a joke or to light up your smoke but there’s someplace that he’d rather be.He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me,as the smile ran away from his face.Well I’m sure that I could be a movie star if I could get out of this place." Now Paul is a real estate novelist,who never had time for a wife and he’s talkin’ with Davy who’s still in the navy and probably will be for life.And the waitress is practicing politics as the businessmen slowly get stoned.Yes, they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness but it’s better than drinkin’ alone.Sing us a song, you’re the piano man,sing us a song tonight.Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feelin’ alright.It’s a pretty good crowd for a saturday and the manager gives me a smile’cause he knows that it’s me they’ve been comin’ to see to forget about life for a while.And the piano, it sounds like a carnival and the microphone smells like a beer and they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say, man, what are you doin’ here?
"Piano Man" - Billy Joel (Piano Man,1973)
