The Night that the Band got the Wine
Al finds yet another unexpected subject for a song. This is
from his 2001 albumn "Down in the Cellar" on which every song
in some way relates to wine. Apparently this was composed at
the piano and Al has at least once performed it live while
playing the piano. The chords here are for the guitar with capo
on the second fret, I'm not sure what Al does when he plays it
on guitar. This is pretty tricky to sing (Al doesn't always
get through it without mistakes) the flow of the lyrics and
the flow of the music overlap in an intricate way, with little
(almost parentheical) phrases linking across the bars - great
fun! Watch out for the "flower pattern shirt of questionable
style".
C#dim7 [x 0 2 3 2 3]
The "band came in" sections need a couple of cute little
chord progressions. No idea about the proper chord names
but these shapes seem to work
C [x 3 2 0 1 0]
C/B [x 2 2 0 1 0]
C/Bb [x 1 2 0 1 0]
Dm [x 0 0 2 3 1]
Dm/Db [x 0 0 2 2 1]
Dm7 [x 0 0 2 1 1]
Intro x 2
A C#dim7 D Dm
A C#dim7 D
The earthquake hit at six-nineteen with a jolt
Dm A
People went running for the doorways
C#dim7 D
And for the next half minute it shook
Dm A
Up on the 17th floor
C#m F#m E
The sommeli - er was opening the wine
C
He knew the great hotel was solidly built
D E
Still it must have been a miracle that nothing got spilt
A C#dim7 D
Terry O'Shea got up from the Chippendale chair
Dm
Talking on the telephone
A C#dim7 D
Looking perplexed, waving a hand in the air
Dm
In the great room all alone
A C#m F#m E
Fifty years old today, a microdot billionaire
C
Putting on a party like a hollywood guy
D E
With all the food and wine that his money could buy
C C/B
The band came in arguing as usual
C/Bb
About nothing in particular
A Dm
It always seemed to be this way
Dm/Db
Tuning up and putting out setlists
Dm7 G C
Of all the stupid songs that musicians hate to play
C/B
Still it could be better than usual
C/Bb A
The food looked great, it was money, not glory
Dm Dm/Db
So when the clock struck eight
Dm7 E
They began the theme tune from ... "Love Story"
A C#dim7 D
Time went by with no one arriving at all
Dm A
It was just Terry and the pictures
C#dim7 D
Of dead people frowning from the wall
Dm
They didn't look very pleased
A C#m F#m E
It was completely clear nobody was coming
C
They were all staying home with their earthquake kits
D E
Waiting for the aftershocks to hit
A C#dim7 D
Thirty decanters of wine sat ready to pour
Dm A
Nineteemn-sixty-one Margaux
C#dim7 D Dm
and Petrus and Chateau Latour Swaying in unison
A C#m F#m E
Lobster and cavi - ar, shrimp and salmon
C
They were all laid out with artistic flair
D E
The waiters were already eyeing their share
C C/B
Terry got up and he said, "enough"
C/Bb A Dm
He told the band to stop playing that dreadful stuff
Dm/Db
Made them all come over to the table
Dm7 G C
And gave them wine that they never had dreamt of
C/B C/Bb
So they worked their way through the burgundy and port
A Dm
And started to relax
Dm/Db Dm7
They discovered they had more in common than they thought
E
And so they went back
A C#dim7 D
Over to the stand and started playing again
Dm A
But this time differently
C#dim7 D
It got louder and louder and fairly insane
Dm A
People heard it down in the street
C#m F#m E
It felt so good, they were smiling at each other and
C
The waiters all ran out covering their ears
D E
There was plaster from the ceiling on the crystal chandeliers
A C#dim7 D
Terry was dancing like a madman and waving his hands
Dm
At anything and everything
A C#dim7 D
Kicking up the dust from the carpet and doing handstands
Dm
Cackling and yodeling
A C#m F#m E
This was a birthday bash he hadn't anticipated
C
Spinning like a top in the middle of the room
D E
While the hotel shook to a sonic boom
C C/B C/Bb
After a while he passed out cold on the floor
A Dm
And dreamed revealing things
Dm/Db Dm7
Then he didn't have computers anymore
G C
Or fawning underlings
C/B C/Bb
He was running through the trees on a tropical isle
A Dm
No more feeling tense
Dm/Db Dm7
In a flower pattern shirt of questionable style
E
It all made sense
A C#dim7 D
The band went back to their homes in the Hollywood hills
Dm
Better than they'd ever felt
A C#dim7 D
Waking up their sleep-addled wives with rambling tales
Dm
It didn't go down very well
A C#m F#m E
But as a lega - cy they called a band meeting
C
And decided they were going to give up playing covers
D E
From that day on they got along with one another
A C#dim7 D
Terry woke up and strange as the story may seem
Dm
Though he felt terrible
A C#dim7 D
He found with the dawn he could still remember his dream
Dm
So he just fell away
A C#m F#m E
Nobody's seen him since but I like to think of him
C D E
Sitting on a beach like Gauguin wearing a smile
C D E
Waiting for a brown-eyed girl, she'll be there in a while
C D E
Maybe thinking back now and then to a long ago time
A C#m F#m E
The night that the band got the wine
A C#m F#m E
The night that the band got the wine
A C#m
The night that the band
F#m D
As I understand
C D A
The night that the band got the wine