Chapters at Closing

I'm wiping down the mahogany,

fifty years of dust and gin

Old Jimmy's in his usual corner,

watching the last crowd wander in

He tells me 'bout the night in seventy-four he met his late

wife Sue

Right here at stool number three,

back when the leather was brand new

Because we weren't drinking,

we were remembering (oh-oh-oh) Every birthday toast,

every tear we cried Yeah we weren't drinking,

we were remembering

Keeping all our sweetest ghosts alive

Young Sarah's laughing by the jukebox,

where her parents had their first dance

And Billy's staring at his glass,

thinking of a broken second chance

We got the high days and the low days etched into these

wooden floors

One more hour 'til the final call,

and they lock up these heavy doors

Because we weren't drinking,

we were remembering (yeah) Every birthday toast,

every tear we cried Yeah we weren't drinking,

we were remembering

Keeping all our sweetest ghosts alive

And the neon's hummin' low,

but the laughter's loud and clear (hummmm)

We're packing up the bottles,

but we're keeping every year

So turn the chairs up on the tables

(hmm-mmm) Blow the candle out on the bar

We weren't drinking, no

We were remembering

who we are