Tom Waits: The Piano Has Been Drinking
[purchase]
Because of our rule about only one song per album, I could not do a double post with “Step Right Up”. It was a tough choice. Definitely check that one out as well.
But as to the matter at hand. I imagine a young piano bar player comes into this place for a month-long gig. He is young in the business, and every gig is the greatest gift he has ever received. His rose colored glasses are fully functional. By the end of the gig, his theme song is Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”.
The month ends, and the next week a grizzled piano-bar veteran comes in for his turn. A very different man, he said goodbye to his dreams long ago. He’s seen it all, and not cared for much of it.. For him, this gig is a way to finance his drinking, nothing more. And this song is his theme song.
So two men experience the same place in very different ways.