The Terminal Tavern lyrics

Song information

Artist: David Wilcox
Album: Live Songs And Stories

Lyrics

The terminal tavern
By david wilcox
Ah, what a beautiful place
It is so lush and quiet in these walls
It's a place where the sound really stands a chance of finding its way
And i'm grateful 'cause, man, there are a lot of gigs that's just really hard
The sound doesn't stand a chance
A lot of times there's a gig that's between somewhere and somewhere else
You really wouldn't go there to play it, but the booking agent says "well you're on your way. why don't you stop and play, you know, the terminal tavern."
As my friend gamble would say, "what a skull orchard."
I mean imagine straining good, fine art sensibility through that veil of chicken wire
It's the kind of place where you gaze about you at those walls of pecky cyprus and pine wood adorned with frontier memorabilia and mint-condition tire tool sets
And the ceiling under slung with fish net encrusted with detritus and streaming down through the steaming midnight air, a million shattered dreams that dangle like declensions of despair
And the daily drunks just line the walls like lemmings in repose
The festering booze assaulting their entrails, like time-release suicide
They're stuck to that sticky floor and they're not moving
And you think, "what do they need?"
Well, I don't have that
What have I got?
I've got an acoustic guitar, it's not enough
I've got words
I wonder if they stand a chance to be heard
Maybe music doesn't stand a chance
I mean, I can make sound
I have vocal chords
I have strings
I can make sound
Who needs sound?
We need music and music is much bigger than that
Music is timing with a capital "t."
Music is hearing a song that sounds like your song, 'cause it's just what you've been dreaming of or thinking of, or praying for
Suddenly it's speaking right to you
And sure, there're all these other people here but they're just superfluous
It's your song and it was meant just for you
It hits home and it's real, 'cause it's coming from some place much bigger
But in that place you look around and you think, "oh man there's no chance for this to happen. there're so many distractions."
There's always distractions
All you can do is send it out
I think sting's analogy of songs is a great one saying, "it's a message in a bottle."
You take all your best hopes and dreams and send it out in a bottle
Toss it in the ocean
Whoever gets it and when they get it, well it has more to do with the ocean than it has to do with you
That's good, the ocean can be trusted, if the timing is right
Send it out as best you can

[from http://lyrics.doheth.co.uk]

"Live Songs And Stories" album track list