Bartender's Blues

Now I'm just a bartender,

And I don't like my work,

But I don't mind the money at all.

I see lots of sad faces

And lots of bad cases

Of folks with their backs to the wall.

But I need four walls around me

To hold my life, to keep me from going astray,

And a honky-tonk angel to hold me tight

To keep me from slipping away.

I can light up your smokes,

I can laugh at your jokes,

I can watch you fall down on your knees.

I can close down this bar,

I can gas up my car,

I can pack up and mail in my key.

But I need four walls around me

To hold my life, to keep me from going astray,

And a honky-tonk angel to hold me tight

To keep me from slipping away.

Now, the smoke fills the air

In this honky-tonk bar

And I'm thinking 'bout where I'd rather be.

But I burned all my bridges, I sank all my ships and I'm stranded at the edge of the sea.

But I need four walls around me

To hold my life, to keep me from going astray,

And a honky-tonk angel to hold me tight

To keep me from slipping away.