It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
It's the weekend and the bar is packed

The regular crowd shuffles in
The usual customers come and take their seats

There's an old man sittin' next to me
An elderly man is sitting beside the singer

Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He's drinking and enjoying his drink

He says, "Son, can you play me a memory?
The old man asks the artist to play a particular song from the past

I'm not really sure how it goes
He's unsure of the song's details

But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
It's a song that's both happy and sad, but he used to know it by heart

When I wore a younger man's clothes"
He knew the song back when he was younger

Sing us a song, you're the piano man
The patrons ask the pianist to play them a song

Sing us a song tonight
They want to hear some music tonight

Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
Everyone is ready to hear some good music

And you've got us feeling' alright
The music is making everyone feel good

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
The singer knows one of the customers named John

He gets me my drinks for free
John pays for the singer's drinks

And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
He's a funny guy who would light up someone's cigarette if asked for it

But there's someplace that he'd rather be
John isn't happy being at the bar

He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me"
He doesn't like this lifestyle

As the smile ran away from his face
The mention of his dissatisfaction made him lose his smile

"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star
John thinks he has the potential to become a movie star

If I could get out of this place"
But he feels trapped

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
There's another customer named Paul who writes stories about real estate

Who never had time for a wife
Paul never got married

And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the Navy
Paul is having a conversation with Davy, who is still serving in the navy

And probably will be for life
Davy will likely be in the navy for the rest of his life

And the waitress is practicing politics
The waitress is talking about politics and practicing her beliefs

As the businessmen slowly get stoned
The businessmen at the bar are getting drunk

Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
They are drinking as a way to distract themselves from their feelings of loneliness

But it's better than drinking alone
They would rather be drinking together than by themselves

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
There are a lot of people at the bar for a Saturday

And the manager gives me a smile
The manager is friendly with the singer

'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
The people are coming to hear the singer play music on the piano

To forget about life for a while
The piano music is a way to escape from their problems for a little while

And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
The sound of the piano is like a celebration

And the microphone smells like a beer
The microphone smells like someone spilled beer on it

And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
The customers tip the singer for playing music

And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
The tips they give make the artist wonder why he plays piano at a bar