ALL NIGHT AT THE ALL-NIGHT DINER
Copyright 2011 by Grant Carrington

Am . . . . . . . . . . . . . C
The midnight ladies have started their show.
D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E
The bars are all closing; there's only one place to go.
I mean to tell you; it just don't get no finer.
It's All Night at the All-Night Diner.

Joe's slinging hash and men on a raft.
Bonnie flirted with a college kid then spit in his face and laughed.
The cook and the washer are smashing up china.
It's All Night at the All-Night Diner.

    F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G
    Patsy sings "Your Cheatin' Heart" most all the night.
    Hank and Willie Nelson are waiting for their turn.
    Oh, no, it's going to happen again. Bill's in another fight.
    F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G . . . . . . . . A
    It seems like some people, they don't never learn.

Gertie's waiting tables, she's getting hot under the collar.
A party of ten left her only one dollar.
Then Dave gave her some lip; now he's sporting a shiner.
It's All Night at the All-Night Diner.

Rosie bumps into tables; she's just staggerin' and stumblin',
And old toothless Willie, he just keeps on with his mumblin'.
Then the Harleys roar in like a fleet of jet liners.
It's All Night at the All-Night Diner.

    Jack at the counter thinks he's still playing the ponies.
    The track closed for the night eight hours ago.
    The joint's filling up with geeks, freaks, and phonies,
    Bartenders and strippers, just 'bout everyone you know.

If the little old ladies who come here at noon
Could get a look at this crowd, they wouldn't come back soon.
There's junkies, grease monkeys, gold diggers, trash miners.
It's All Night at the All-Night Diner.

It's a freak show, a carnival, and it don't never stop.
And when it reaches its peak, here come the cops!
I mean to tell you, it just can't get no finer.
It's All Night at the All-Night Diner


    Feel free to perform this song in public, as long as you mention who wrote it. (A mention of the CD, Ancient Laughter, and the fact that it can purchased from www.cdbaby.com would be appreciated too.) If you want to record it, however, you will have to cross my palm with silver. My brother-in-law comes from Sicily.