One For My Baby
Axel Stordahl & His Orchestra Lyrics

It's quarter to three
It's late at night, approaching 3 AM

There's no-one in the place
The bar or lounge is empty, except for the singer and the bartender

'Cept You and me.
Except for the singer and the bartender, there's no one else with them

So set 'em up Joe,
The artist requests Joe the bartender to pour another drink

I've got a little story
The artist has something they want to share

I think you should know
The singer feels it's important to tell Joe their story

We're drinking my friend,
The singer and Joe are drinking together

To the end of a brief episode
They're drinking to acknowledge the end of something short-lived

Make it one for my baby, and one more
The artist asks for two drinks to be served - one for themselves and one for their imaginary baby, to whom they want to propose a toast

For the road
The artist and Joe are drinking one last time together before parting ways

I've got the routine
The singer has a sequence of actions they follow regularly

Put another nickel in the machine
The artist requests Joe to play a song on the jukebox by putting another coin in it

I'm feeling so bad
The singer is feeling very sad

Can't you make the music easy and sad
The singer wants to hear a slow, sad song to match their mood

I could tell you a lot
The singer feels like talking about their problems with Joe since they're the only ones around

But you've gotta be true to your code
The artist acknowledges that Joe may have rules to follow, and doesn't want to force them to break any

Just make it one for my baby, and one more
The artist again requests for two drinks to be poured

For the road
The singer wants to drink to the future for when they'll be on the road again

You'd never know it, but buddy I'm a kind of poet
The singer reveals that they're a poet, which isn't obvious from their demeanor

And I got a lot of things I'd like to say
The artist has a lot of thoughts, ideas, and emotions bottled up that they want to get out

So when I'm gloomy, won't you listen to me
The artist wants Joe to lend an ear when they're feeling down

'Til it's talked away
They want to keep talking until their sadness dissipates

Well, that's how it goes
The singer remarks that's just how life is

And Joe I know you're getting anxious to close
The artist knows that Joe wants to wrap up and close the bar

And thanks for the cheer
The singer appreciates the good time they had with Joe

I hope you didn't mind my bending your ear
The singer hopes that they didn't talk too much and bore Joe

But this touch that I've found
The singer refers to an emotion or feeling that they've discovered

Must be drowned or it soon might explode
The artist doesn't want to let their emotions overwhelm them and need to drink to forget them

So make it one for my baby
The artist asks for one final drink

And one more for the road
The singer and Joe will drink one more time together as they prepare to part ways - this time for good

The long
The singer contemplates how long the road ahead is

It's so long
The road ahead feels very long, lonely, and uncertain to the artist

The long
The artist repeats their thought that the road ahead is long

Very long
The artist emphasizes how long and winding the road ahead seems