Invitation To The Blues
Holly Cole Lyrics

Well she's up against the register with an apron and a spatula,
She is working as a waitress, serving customers food and drinks

Yesterday's deliveries, tickets for the bachelors
She has deliveries and bachelors' tickets from the day before

She's a moving violation from her conk down to her shoes,
She moves around quickly like a traffic violation, from head to foot

Well, it's just an invitation to the blues
The way she works and moves is an invitation to feeling sad and blue

And you feel just like Cagney, she looks like Rita Hayworth
You feel like a movie star like Cagney when you are around her, who looks like Rita Hayworth

At the counter of the Schwab's drugstore
She is at the counter of a drugstore called Schwab's

You wonder if she might be single, she's a loner and likes to mingle
You are curious about whether she is single or not, as she seems to be alone but enjoys being around people

Got to be patient, try and pick up a clue
You need to be patient and try to figure out more about her by paying attention to clues

She said 'How you gonna like 'em, over medium or scrambled?'
She asked how you want your eggs cooked, whether over medium or scrambled

You say 'Anyway's the only way', be careful not to gamble
You say that you don't care how the eggs are cooked, but you need to be careful not to take risks

On a guy with a suitcase and a ticket getting out of here
She warns not to trust a man who has a suitcase and a ticket to leave town

It's a tired bus station and an old pair of shoes
The man is likely to be at the run-down bus station with old shoes

This ain't nothing but an invitation to the blues
She wants to remind you that this situation is nothing but a depressing scenario

But you can't take your eyes off her, get another cup of java,
You are unable to stop looking at her and get another cup of coffee

It's just the way she pours it for you, joking with the customers
You can't help but notice the way she pours coffee, and the way she jokes around with her customers

Mercy mercy, Mr. Percy, there ain't nothing back in Jersey
She exclaims that there's nothing left behind in Jersey to go back to

But a broken-down jalopy of a man I left behind
She left behind a man who is now like a broken-down car

And the dream that I was chasing, and a battle with booze
She gave up chasing her dreams and started a battle with alcohol

And an open invitation to the blues
She has an open invitation to feel sad and sorrowful

But she used to have a sugar daddy and a candy-apple Caddy,
She used to have a man who provided her with everything, and a nice car to drive

And a bank account and everything, accustomed to the finer things
She was accustomed to having a bank account and everything else she wanted

He probably left her for a socialite, and he didn't 'cept at night,
Her man probably left her for a high-class woman, and only comes to see her at night

And then he's drunk and never even told her that her cared
When he comes to see her, he is always drunk and doesn't even tell her that he cares about her

So they took the registration, and the car-keys and her shoes
He took away the car registration, the car keys and her shoes

And left her with an invitation to the blues
He left her with an invitation to feel sad and depressed

'Cause there's a Continental Trailways leaving local bus tonight, good evening
She tells you that the Continental Trailways bus is leaving tonight

You can have my seat, I'm sticking round here for a while
She offers you her seat, but says she's staying here for a bit

Get me a room at the Squire, the filling station's hiring,
She wants a room at the Squire hotel, and knows the filling station is hiring

And I can eat here every night, what the hell have I got to lose?
She can eat here every night and doesn't have much to lose

Got a crazy sensation, go or stay? now I gotta choose,
She feels a bit crazy and has to decide whether to stay or go

And I'll accept your invitation to the blues
She will accept the invitation to feel sad and blue