we were at

the hotel bar,
ordering drinks.

i got
tequila for me
and she wanted
something pink,

so i asked for
a strawberry colada.

the waitress looked at me
and said,
“we don’t serve
daiquiris.”

i looked at her
and ordered a wine
instead.

there was live music
at the bar…

the Jerry Stein Trio.

there were
two of them.

right then
they were playing
the old Patsy Cline hit
“Crazy.”

they were playing it
real slow and
it was kinda nice.

maybe it was
the tequila…

but it was nice.

one of the guys
at the bar,
who hadn’t said a word
all night,
turned to me and said,
“they’re playing
an Eagles song.  i
love the Eagles. 
that’s Desperado. 

i know that damn song
by heart.”

that’s just the kind
of night it was.

nothing seemed to fit.

some nights are like that.

some nights you just
lower your head,
deal with it
and take one
for the team.

This is true, quirky, humorous, and kinda funny-strange.  Just like you say--like one of those days or nights you are speechless to explain or understand why things are happening the way they are.  We all have them.

Good subject, good write,
cheryl

i do love your writing john,,a super piece.....small glitch    and..eagles song    an i think

keep it up...well done with the you tubing

jerry

thanks for pointing out the typo!  i really appreciate that.  i hate having things go out with mistakes.
best.
jy

In great voice, John, beautifully sung to rippling laughter at ourselves. Will be picked.

milner

Fun read, John! L3 unnecessary? Tom

Finally hanging out with real people, are you? tsk, tsk

fun read.

larry

Love this section:

there was live music
at the bar…

the Jerry Stein Trio.

there were
two of them.

I like this a lot.
Rick

good 'un.

Like it, too, John.

Is 'and Eagles' intended or 'an Eagles' ?

ld

thanks, lynn...i thought i'd corrected that typo...thanks for pointing it out.  glad you caught it.
best...
john

glad to read this one again. 

ld

John,

Is there a particular reason for using the simple present tense in L5 when all the other are written in the past?

Otherwise, it all looks good, a smooth read.

Mark

excellent

it reminds me of when Paul Desmond was asked,
"how many of you are in the quartet?".

 

it feels more colloquial and conversational to me.
no other reason.
thanks.
john

Sometimes you have a bad day, and with any luck you run across something that makes you smile. That's what happened with this one, John. It was my turn to pick this time, so I sent this up.

Btw, I took the liberty of addressing the verb tense issue brought up earlier, which is valid, I think.

Congrats, John! Tom

Enjoyed the poem, John. Good choice, Jay.

You know, I think I've said it before, but John you are king of stating the obvious (obviously well, of course) nice pick Jay

i hadn't been around to notice this got moved up. thanks a million!
john

all I can say is, that's just how I remember it! I can almost hear John Prine delivering the goods.  Just has a nice smooth rolling pace.  Very Nice!