Piano Man/ The Bridge Has Been Burnt

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The Regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."

La la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum

Chorus:
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"

Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone

Chorus
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight 
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you got us feeling alright

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"

Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum

Chorus:
Sing us a song you're the piano man 
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody 
And you got us feeling alright

3rd poem in the fail-poem serial...

The bridge has been burnt;

We can but stare blankly

At the other bank of the river.

We can but put on a mask, a veneer,

Pretend that we are perfectly alright and hope

That the other person doesn't see through it.

The deafening silence occasionally broken

By the roar of a voice loud as thunder as

We let loose longing cries 

Imbued with much emotion 

Humbled by the immense breadth of the divide,

They reach the other side as a faint, dying whispers,

Tired, exhausted and weary of travel. They attempt

To deliver their messages

But their voice blends in with

The rustling of leaves in the wind,

A bleak comparison to the gleeful laughter

Heard echoing for all eternity.

The once playful sunlight is all but gone

And only darkness shone unto the river banks.

We wonder what secrets the other bank harbours

But resign ourselves to the fact that 

We will never satisfy our curiosity.

We wonder why we imposed upon ourselves such 

A depressing condition and we cannot remember.

Perhaps the bridge was burnt by immature hands

That haven't learnt yet how to think.

We cannot hope to rebuild the bridge 

When the river is gushing ever faster.

And we can only stare at the other side of the river,

And drink in the darkness of that other side.