Piano Man

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday

The regular crowd shuffles in

There's an old man sitting next to me

Making 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"

La, la-la, di-di-da

La-la, li-li-la, da-dum

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 feeling 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 a 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"

Oh, la, la-la, di-da-da

La-la, di-di-da, da-dum

Now Paul is a real-estate novelist

Who never had time for a wife

And he's talking with Davey, 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 drinking 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 feeling 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 coming 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 doing here?"

Oh, la, la-la, di-di-da

La-la, di-di-da, da-dum

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 feeling alright