Arc of Bar

Hustlers, whores, in rooms galore A sinking city's stink An arc of bar, a flesh bazaar Of diamonds, dust, and drink The jukebox jamming, the lions lamming The jokers doing the dealing And queens are over jacks Remember that or catch a beating Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah The night had come into her own And I made the arc of bar my home Beneath my clothes, just a bag of bones Under my skin, just skeletons I was rolling like a pair of dice With one for laws and one for lies But all this, I tried to hide Behind a glaze of sweat and fire Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah To some, a mistress To some, a muse Something soft for something blue She sauced my needs out of my dreams And baptized me in flesh that seeds And then she lay me like a baby On a bed of Spanish moss And for her love, I would help the devil To steal Christ right off the cross Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah I lay blame on the arc of bar And the hundred proof in me But the arc, it blames the air Hundred percent humidity Well at least those damned mosquitos That fall flounder to the flood Get a thimble full of whiskey with their paltry pint of blood My blood This port of call It ain't no port at all The cap, my cup, and anchors up The jokers, they tease another hand But they're out of luck 'cause I'm out of town And the sun is like an omen Goading me toward the gospel But I got no plans at all Except to drink as soon as possible Some men offer confession For their souls and grace of god For others women, women are for mercy And mosquitos they're abuzz Yeah, some men offer confession For their souls and grace of god For others women, women are for mercy And mosquitos they're abuzz