album cover
Preferred Seating
Jazz
Preferred Seating was released on January 16, 2026 by Shady Oak Joint as a part of the album Roaring Fork & Frying Pan
album cover
Release DateJanuary 16, 2026
LabelShady Oak Joint
Melodicness
Acousticness
Valence
Danceability
Energy
BPM93

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
Mike Murdy
Mike Murdy
Other Instrument
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Michael J. Murdy
Michael J. Murdy
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Mike Murdy
Mike Murdy
Producer

Lyrics

The host gives a nod like a practiced move
Checks the room, checks the name
There's a pause that says more than the truth
Won't be long — always means the same
I watch coats disappear down the hall
Past the velvet, past the light
Some folks never wait at all
Some folks learn to smile just right
(Preferred seating)
Front-row smile
(Preferred seating)
Just this once, maybe a while
No excuses, no appeal
Just a look that seals the deal
(Preferred seating)
Line goes thin
(Preferred seating)
Let a few slip in
If they wave you through, you're seen
If they don't, you read between
Preferred seating
They say we'll see what we can do
Like it's weather, like it's fate
There's a list nobody shows you
But everybody knows to wait
A glance gets traded, nothing said
A favor lands, no paper trail
Some names get pulled before they're read
Some stories never make the mail
Funny how the rules don't bend
They just lean the other way
Nobody calls it leverage
They just say you should've stayed
You can dress it up in reasons
You can call it timing, too
But the room decides in seconds
What it's gonna do with you
I've had nights where doors swung wide
Like they knew me by my face
I've had nights they let me stand aside
Watching someone take my place
It's not anger, it's arithmetic
How the numbers always move
Every table tells you quietly
What the room expects from you
(Preferred seating)
Front-row smile
(Preferred seating)
Just this once, maybe a while
No excuses, no appeal
Just a look that seals the deal
(Preferred seating)
Line goes thin
(Preferred seating)
Let a few slip in
If they wave you through, you're seen
If they don't, you read between
Preferred seating
Lights go low, the checks come clean
Someone laughs a little loud
I step out into the in-between
Not high enough, not shut out
I don't need the best view tonight
I've seen how the game gets played
I just take the long way past the sign
That says preferred seating
Written by: Michael J. Murdy
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