Old Smoothies
Steve Goodman Lyrics

My grandfather used to take us
The singer recalls his grandfather taking him and others to an ice skating show.

Down to the ice skatin' show,
The event was an ice skating show.

At the hockey rink at the stadium,
The show took place at a hockey rink in a stadium.

When the Blackhawks were on the road.
The team the Blackhawks were on the road during the event.

We'd cheer for the clowns in their costumes,
The artist and his group would cheer for the clowns at the show.

And the beautiful figure ballet,
They also appreciated the beauty of the figure skating at the show.

Of the former Olympic champions
The show featured former Olympic champions.

As they'd spin on the frozen spray.
The figure skaters would perform spins on the ice at the show.

But there was one moment in that whole spectacular show,
The artist recalls a specific moment in the show that stood out.

When the band would strike up a quiet waltz,
During this moment, the band played a slow waltz.

And they turned all the lights down low.
The lights were dimmed during this part of the show.

Old smoothies,
The artist refers to two elderly figure skaters as 'old smoothies.'

Two old people on skates.
The old smoothies are two elderly people wearing skates.

Sequined septuagenarians
The old smoothies were in their seventies and wearing sequined costumes.

Doing their figure eights.
The old smoothies were performing figure-eight skating moves.

How they'd glide 'round the arena,
The old smoothies moved gracefully around the ice rink.

So serene and sublime.
Their performance was peaceful and beautiful.

They had been the old smoothies for a long, long time.
The old smoothies had been performing for many years and were well-known for their graceful skating.

Where did they get the stamina?
The singer wonders where the old smoothies got the energy and endurance to perform.

And how did they stay in shape?
The artist is curious about how the old smoothies maintained their physical fitness.

I know that took the lion's share
The artist assumes that skating took up most of their time and energy.

Of liniment, pride and tape.
They likely had to use liniment for sore muscles, had pride in their performance, and used tape for injuries or to keep things in place.

See my Grandfather smile and the smoothies
The singer notes that his grandfather would smile while watching the old smoothies perform.

Would glide and pirouette,
The old smoothies would perform gliding moves as well as spinning turns.

Then he would reach for my Grandma's hand,
The singer's grandfather would reach for the hand of his grandmother during the old smoothies' performance.

And Grandma's eyes got wet.
The singer's grandmother was moved to tears by the old smoothies' performance.

The spotlight stayed on the smoothies,
The audience focused on the old smoothies throughout their performance.

While they circled the ice and bowed
The old smoothies finished their performance by skating around the rink and bowing to the audience.

Before fifteen thousand hockey fans,
There were many people in the audience, including fifteen thousand fans of the Blackhawks hockey team.

Not a dry eye in the crowd.
The audience was moved to tears by the old smoothies' performance.