Three Sheets to Kishkiyya · Track 47 · middle
Empty the Tank
VOLUME II — the sudden, urgent pilgrimage to the BATHROOM. The idiom and the song's title hook: "Empty the Tank". Its true history: 20th c. — the bladder imagined as a tank or reservoir to drain. Render this beat of the night as the band's affectionate, funny, celebratory tribute — the idiom itself is the chorus hook.
Lyrics
[Intro] Step right up and clear the aisle! We got a heavyweight contender in a desperate style! [Verse 1] In the roaring 1920s when the motorcar was grand We mapped the fragile body like an engineering plan A combustion engine humming with a reservoir of brass But the dashboard gauge is pinning as she navigates the mass She’s been taking on the liquid like a champion in her prime Now the warning light is flashing and she’s losing her mind! [Chorus] You gotta empty the tank! Step into the porcelain ring! Drain the heavy reservoir, let the brass bells swing! She’s bobbing and weaving straight through the bar Driving that chassis like a mid-century car Oh, the pressure is immense but she’s taking it to the bank Stand back, everybody—she’s gonna empty the tank! [Verse 2] Look at that footwork, slipping past the swinging wood Dodging spilled martinis like a title-holder should She’s a modern locomotion with a payload in the hold Seeking out the sanctuary, gambling with her soul It’s a heavy-duty mission in the middle of the bout The internal plumbing hollering to let the water out! [Chorus] You gotta empty the tank! Step into the porcelain ring! Drain the heavy reservoir, let the brass bells swing! She’s bobbing and weaving straight through the bar Driving that chassis like a mid-century car Oh, the pressure is immense but she’s taking it to the bank Stand back, everybody—she’s gonna empty the tank! [Bridge] In the red corner, the pressure of steel! In the blue corner, the drinks from the field! She ducks under a waiter, she takes the left hook She’s writing a chapter in the record book The handle is turning—the stall is free! A technical knockout of human anatomy! [Outro] The engine is quiet, the gauges drop down The undisputed champion of the underground... Well, she made it to the bell. Empty the tank.