"Is This A Joke To You?"
by Moss Palace

The bar is quiet, almost dead
The regulars don’t seem to mind
She paints her smile in Russian red
From a lipstick someone left behind
And in her eyes I see an emptiness

The time goes fast and then it’s gone
They try to warn you when you’re young
“Is this a joke to you?” They say
But you can’t learn it any other way

The doorman lights another match
The jukebox finally plays his song
So many nights poured down the hatch
Waiting for life to come along
And in his arms he feels a loneliness

The time goes fast and then it’s gone
They try to warn you when you’re young
“Is this a joke to you?” They say
But you can’t learn it any other way

*Why does the hummingbird hum?
Because he doesn’t know the words (these two lines are our joke setup and punchline)*
Why do we hate what we’ve become?
Maybe it was never in the cards
And in my heart I feel a restlessness

The time goes fast and then it’s gone
They try to warn you when you’re young
“Is this a joke to you?” They say
But you can’t learn it any other way