Track 2 of the album Back Door Open · 2022
Play It Once More for the Bartender
“The mop bucket rolling in is the sound of last call everywhere. I asked the bartender for one more tune and he gave me two.”
slow rock · bar-room ballad · slow rock · 4:42
Lyrics
Chairs are up on the corners of the tables Mop bucket rolling in from the back The bartender's counting out the singles Dimming down the neon, click by click There's one old man still nursing his coffee One girl in a coat she won't take off The jukebox hums a low and tired blessing Waiting on a quarter and a song Everybody's got a long way home tonight Nobody wants to be the first to leave So play it once more for the bartender Play it for the ones who stayed too late Let the last song of the night be tender Let the road wait one more minute at the gate We came in here as strangers We're leaving here as something close to friends So play it once more for the bartender And leave the light on till the music ends He wipes the wood like he's wiping off the evening Says go on home, but he doesn't mean it yet The old man taps his boot against the rail now The girl takes off her coat and takes a seat Everybody's got a long way home tonight Nobody wants to be the first to leave So play it once more for the bartender Play it for the ones who stayed too late Let the last song of the night be tender Let the road wait one more minute at the gate We came in here as strangers We're leaving here as something close to friends So play it once more for the bartender And leave the light on till the music ends Out in the lot the engines start to murmur Headlights sweeping over the wet street Drive safe, drive slow, and mind the dark out there The last song's always the one you keep So play it once more for the bartender Play it for the ones who stayed too late Let the last song of the night be tender Let the road wait one more minute at the gate We came in here as strangers We're leaving here as something close to friends So play it once more for the bartender And leave the light on till the music ends Leave the light on till the music ends