Al Stewart - The Night That The Band Got The Wine lyrics

The earthquake hit at 6:19 with a jolt People went running for the doorway And for the next half minute it shook Up on the 17th floor the sommelier was opening the wine He knew the great hotel was solidly built Still it must have been a miracle that nothing got spilt. Terry O'Shea 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 that way Tuning up and putting out set lists Of all the stupid songs musicians hate to play Still it could be better then usual The food looked great, it was money not glory So when the clock struck eight They began the theme tune from "Love Story". Time went by with no one arriving at all It was just Terry and the pictures Of dead people frowning from the wall, They didn't look very pleased It was completely clear nobody was coming They were all staying home with their earthquake kits Waiting for the aftershocks to hit The Night That the Band Got the Wine Thirty decanters of wine sat ready to pour 1961 Margaux and Petrus and Chateau Latour Swaying in unison Lobster and cavier, shrimp and salmon They were all laid out with artistic flair The waiters were already eyeing their share Terry 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 he gave them wine they never had dreamt of So they worked their way through the burgundy and port And started to relax They discovered they had more in common then they thought And so they went back Over to the stand and started playing again But this time differently It got louder 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 and waving 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 hadn't anticipated Spinning like a top in the middle of the room While the hotel shook to a sonic boom. After a while he pa**ed out cold on the floor And dreamed revealing things Then he didn't have computers anymore, Or fawning underlings He was running through the trees on a tropical isle No more feeling tense In a flower patterned shirt of questionable style It all made sense The band went back to their homes in the Hollywood hills Better than they'd ever felt Waking up their sleep-addled wives with rambling tales It didn't 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 another Terry woke up and strange as the story may seem. Though he felt terrible He found with the dawn he could still remember his dream So he just fell away Nobody's seem him since But I like to think of him Sitting on a beach like Gaugin wearing a smile Waiting for a brown eyed girl, she'll be there in a while Maybe thinking back to a long ago time The Night That the Band Got the Wine The Night That the Band Got the Wine