Joe Ely: Standin' At The Big Hotel

I was standin at a big hotel
wishin everybody well
but if anybody paid me any mind it was hard to tell
a big policeman on his beat
pulled his pistol and he pointed at me
lookin down the barrel I could see the gates of hell
I was Standin' At A Big Hotel

so i went walkin down the avenue
lookin for someone who looked like you
but I never saw a face that seemed to ring a bell
so I stopped beside the five and dime
just window-shoppin and wastin time
when along came a gal who sold me all she had to sell
she left me Standin' At A Big Hotel
I lost my mind in the wilds of Hollywood
I did some time in the shadows where I stood
I let the cards fall where they fell...
and I found myself Standin' At A Big Hotel
a blind lady with a big tin cup
had her pencils all sharpened up
she was standin in the door just to see what she could sell
but nobody bought a thing all night
they thought she was a pitiful sight
Lord help the gal who helps herself
Standin' At A Big Hotel

long gone are horse n buggy days
big limousines are here to stay
and when they see you to the door
they want something for their help
but I saw somebody make a little slip
he only left the kid a ten cent tip
you shoulda heard what I heard when I heard that bell boy yell...
Standin' At A Big Hotel

Lord Lord what's the matter with me
to pay so much for the song I sing
when all I was doin was singin it to myself
like standin in a stagnant stream
with nothin in the world left to dream
I was dyin at the bottom of a dried up wishin well
I was Standin' At A Big Hotel

well I know what you're thinkin today
I can feel it though I'm miles away
everybody knows I love my southern belle
but from the east to the wild wild west
they say a bird in the hand is best
so here I am with a bird dog and a bottle of muscatel
Standin' At A Big Hotel