If you stayed too long on the road
If you strayed from where you thought you’d go
There’s a place up ahead - get a beer, get a bed
Get a story before you go
You’re weary from the last election
You’re mind could use some restin’
The guy at the bar will compare scars
And likely change your perception
CHORUS:
Of all the directions your moral compass knows
Of all the affections a human heart can hold
Not one can compare to the storyteller who
Is able to convince you the sky isn’t blue
...a minneapolis-based contemporary folk trio
He’ll weave you the smells and the sounds
Of run-ins with jokers and clowns
You’ll think you’re right there, breathin’ the same air
Helping bring his pirates aground
You can swap a story or ten
He’ll trump you again and again
It’s not a fair trade, cuz his stories area made
On a planet where you’ve never been
Repeat CHORUS
No matter how fantastic the tale
Know it’s his wind blowin’ the sails
He’s lived a long time, and he’s crossed some lines
That ever-elusive white whale
Just walk down that mythical road
Enduring each step as you go
Will be this same man, with a drink and a plan
To whisk you into the unknown
NOTES: The Bartender is my folkiest folk song. It’s a tribute to Puff the Magic Dragon, a song my mom sang to my sisters & I from a very young age. Instead of creating a story about a mythical character, though, I wanted to conjure someone who has the ability to make people believe in mythical characters – and other dimensions and magical possibilities. The funny thing is, some of the lyrics were never meant to be in the final version, but as time has gone on I’ve become attached to them, mistakes and all. For example, I’ve never read Moby Dick, and I’m quite certain my allusion to the white whale in the fifth verse mixes up stories of the two main characters in that book. That’s the great thing about poetic license, though – you don’t have to be right. You just have to believe in your story, and I do. The Bartender is dedicated to Dawn, my longtime friend, who is the best storyteller I’ve ever known.
