Three Sheets to Kishkiyya · Track 23 · middle
Under the Table
VOLUME I — being gloriously, world-tilting DRUNK (the night at full tilt). The idiom and the song's title hook: "Under the Table". Its true history: UK/US, 19-20th c. — so drunk you slide and pass out under the table; total incapacitation. Render this beat of the night as the band's affectionate, funny, celebratory tribute — the idiom itself is the chorus hook.
Lyrics
[Verse 1] The neon's buzzing like a hornet's nest And you've put your vertical to the final test Leaning way too heavy on the sticky wood Smiling like a patron saint of up-to-no-good The stool is wobbling but your boots are flat Tipping your glass to the ghosts and the tavern cat [Chorus] But gravity is calling from the great below It's the oldest parlor trick that we all know You're going under the table Down where the shadows keep the whiskey cool Under the table Slipping off the edge of a mahogany stool It's a glorious surrender when the room starts to spin Down on the floorboards where the real night begins [Verse 2] Ever since the 19th-century saloon days Folks have been dropping through the liquor haze You slide into the sawdust where the spilled ale dries Staring at the rafters with those happy eyes It ain't a tragic ending, it's a rite of spring When the joints give out and the dive bar sings [Bridge] Watch the elbow slip, watch the shoulder dip The captain is abandoning the drinking ship You're sinking down beneath the timberline Leaving all your posture and your pride behind [Chorus] You're going under the table Down where the shadows keep the whiskey cool Under the table Slipping off the edge of a mahogany stool It's a glorious surrender when the room starts to spin Down on the floorboards where the real night begins [Outro] Yeah the dust is thick but the floor is sweet Tangled up down there around everybody's feet Sleep it off, wild one The earth is gonna catch you now Right under the table