Once - Song for Memory lyrics

The old men are proud Of the songs that they've picked Hummin' in time where The words come unfixed Just five kings left Only four can turn tricks The tallow is burning a bath for the wicks Some get it right while some make mistakes Some hear the chorus some only the breaks When singing the verse through the sips that he takes And some close their eyes as their memories ache A full house is five men But very few glances Shuffle the cards and Hand out the chances One knight to the queen while the clock still advances And pondering time in long empty trances Stuck in a town where your reach meets the view Where the dreams that you held were both fleeting and few They crackle like fire on their way up the floo Well each day you work and weeks-end you're due And it's row upon row of the people you know And it's row upon row of the people you know Stand still as a choir that hasn't yet sung Stand still as a choir that hasn't yet sung No head goes unnodded No head goes unhung And the time to head home has long ago come The current runs high and are filling their lungs The song goes around like a black vinyl tongue The guitar in the corner, its neck left unstrung And the girl at the bar is impossibly young Smiling bright as the clock strikes a quarter past one And it's row upon row of the people you know And it's row upon row of the people you know And it's row upon row of the people you know Stand still as a choir that hasn't yet sung Stand still as a choir that hasn't yet sung Stand still as a choir that hasn't yet sung