The earthquake hit at6 19 with a jolt People went running for the doorways And for the next half minute it shook Up on the 17th floor the sommelier wasopening the Wine He knew the great hotel was solidly built Still it must have been a miracle thatnothing got spilt Terry OShea got up from the Chippendale chair Talking on the telephone Looking perplexed waving a hand in the air In the great room all alone Fifty years old today, a microdot billionaire Putting on a party like a Hollywood guy With all the food and wine that his money could buy The band came in arguing as usual About nothing in particular It always seemed to be this way Tuning up andputting out setlists Of all the stupid songs that musicians hate to play Still it could be better than usual The food looked great and it was money not glory So when the ]clock struck eight They began the theme] from Love Story Time went by with no one arriving at at all It was just Terry and the pictures Of dead people frowning from the wall They didnt look very pleased It was completely clear nobody was coming They were all staying home with their earthquake kits Waiting for thge aftershocks to hit Thirty decanters of wine sat ready to pout 1961 Margaux and Petrus and Chateau Latour Swaying in unison Lobstrer and caviar shrimp and salmon They were all laid out with artistic flair The waiters were already eyeing their share Teryy got up and he said Enough And told the band to stop playing that dreadful stuff He made them all come over to the table And gave them wine that they had never dreamt of So they worked their way through the burgundy and port And started to relax They discovered thay had more in common than they thought And so they went back Over to the stand and started playing again But this time differently It got loud and louder and fairly insane People heard it down in the street It felt so good, they were smiling at each other The waiters all ran out covering their ears There was plaster from the ceiling on the crystal chandeliers Terry was dancing like a madman andwaving his hands At anything and everything Kicking up the dust from the carpet and doing handstands Cackling and yodeling This was a birthday bash he hadnt anticipated Spinning like a top in the middle of the room While the hotel shook to a sonic boom After a while he passed out cold on the floor And dreamed revealing things Then he didnt have computers anymore Or fawning underlings He was running through the trees on a tropical isle No more feeling tense In a flower pattern shirt of quetionable style It all made sense The band went back to their homes in the Hollywood hills Better than theyd ever felt Waking up their sleepaddled wives with rambling tales It didnt go down very well But as a legacy they called a band meeting And decided they were going to give up playing covers From that day on they got along with one anothoer Terry woke up and strange as the story may seem Though he felt terrible He found withthe dawn he could still remember his dream So ge just fell away Nobodys seen him since But I like to think of him Sitting on a beach like Gaugin wearing a smile Waiting for the browneyed girl, shell be there in a while Maybe thinking back now and then to a long ago time The night that the band got the wine The night that the band got the wine
terry, band, wine, went, waiter