The Man Who Drank Himself
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 9:39 pm
The Man Who Drank Himself
©Neil McArthur 2015
He watered down his whiskey with some beer he’d meant to chase
Then used a dirty cuff to wipe the foam from off his face
Some stuck to the stubble and some dripped to the bar
But he ordered up another. Why not? He’d come this far
His demons were behind him, outside the bar room door
Waiting till they called last drinks to chase him home once more
To his darkly shadowed hovel where the past clung to the walls
And the Ghosts of family parted, wandered through the lonely halls
chorus
They say the booze can get ya, well the odds are that it will
For there’s many a whiskey victim lying out there on Booze Hill
Yes a man can drink his family, as quickly as his wealth
And soon a man can find that he can finally drink himself
Dean Martin didn’t make it to the Jukebox playing list
‘Little Ol’ Wine Drinking Him’ sat with a schooner near his fist
He’d not been to Chicago, and he never aimed to go
As a rasping, rapping repertoire tried hard to steal the show
And some people he half recognized sat further up the room
But just stares and then a whisper did his presence now consume
‘A Man Of Constant Sorrow’, now there’s a song he knew
As he sat and lived the lyrics as he ordered up a brew
chorus
They say the booze can get ya, well the odds are that it will
For there’s many a whiskey victim lying out there on Booze Hill
Yes a man can drink his family, as quickly as his wealth
And soon a man can find that he can finally drink himself
Soon the bar will liven, as the men drink to his name
As his casket’s getting lowered, and reputation much the same
To a lonely pauper’s farewell where the worst are even blessed
The Man Who Drank Himself is finally laid down to his rest
©Neil McArthur 2015
He watered down his whiskey with some beer he’d meant to chase
Then used a dirty cuff to wipe the foam from off his face
Some stuck to the stubble and some dripped to the bar
But he ordered up another. Why not? He’d come this far
His demons were behind him, outside the bar room door
Waiting till they called last drinks to chase him home once more
To his darkly shadowed hovel where the past clung to the walls
And the Ghosts of family parted, wandered through the lonely halls
chorus
They say the booze can get ya, well the odds are that it will
For there’s many a whiskey victim lying out there on Booze Hill
Yes a man can drink his family, as quickly as his wealth
And soon a man can find that he can finally drink himself
Dean Martin didn’t make it to the Jukebox playing list
‘Little Ol’ Wine Drinking Him’ sat with a schooner near his fist
He’d not been to Chicago, and he never aimed to go
As a rasping, rapping repertoire tried hard to steal the show
And some people he half recognized sat further up the room
But just stares and then a whisper did his presence now consume
‘A Man Of Constant Sorrow’, now there’s a song he knew
As he sat and lived the lyrics as he ordered up a brew
chorus
They say the booze can get ya, well the odds are that it will
For there’s many a whiskey victim lying out there on Booze Hill
Yes a man can drink his family, as quickly as his wealth
And soon a man can find that he can finally drink himself
Soon the bar will liven, as the men drink to his name
As his casket’s getting lowered, and reputation much the same
To a lonely pauper’s farewell where the worst are even blessed
The Man Who Drank Himself is finally laid down to his rest