Twilight Sonata

The customers keep coming here
Though the critics call them fools.
Still, I've learned a thing or two
They don't teach in critic schools.
The clientele skews older now
I must admit it's true.
And with every passing year
I skew a little older, too.

    I guess it's a young man's game
    With their little fashion trends --
    Maybe they can pack this place
    With their little fashion friends.

I should make a list
Of every critic who's not a whore.
We close up in five minutes
That should be time enough and more.


I made my bones in Paris,
Baby I earned that shiny star.
And up and down both my arms
I earned every burn and scar.
Anyway, I'm still the best
This town has ever seen –
From Baton Rouge to Kokomo,
And every city in between.

    Still, I can't believe
    We're half empty every night.
    But what's left for me,
    But keep fighting the good fight?

I could count up on one hand
All my friends who still endure.
We close up in three minutes,
That should be time enough and more.


SOLO

    I can still crank 'em out
    By rote, they're just as good.
    But at my age,
    It's getting awful hot beneath this hood.

I should count up all my blessings
While I've still got time for sure.
We close up in one minute,
That should be time enough and more.


Maybe I should be grateful
I didn't lead an ordinary life.
Maybe I should be grateful
My mind's still sharp as my knife.
I guess I'm lucky
I still have any taste at all.
Take a little pride
In how far there was to fall.

    Guess it's time to take a gig
    In some sleepy beachside town—
    All the easier for my sorrows and me
    To find a place to drown.

I guess it's mine to finish,
This case of Twilight Sonata, ninety-four.
We closed up for good an hour ago,
Guess I've got time enough and more.