HELL'S JUST A TOWN WITH A TWO—DRINK MINIMUM
August 24, 1988
Written by Pat Melfi
I walked in thinkin' I was still alive, neon buzzed like a hornet's hive
Bartender smiled with a mouth too wide, said, We don't close, and no one leaves alive
The stools were full of ghosts and sins, old bar tabs, bad blood, crooked grins
The jukebox played my worst regret, on loop, like it just can't forget
CHORUS
Hell's just a town with a two—drink minimum, where the whiskey's cheap and the past ain't killin' ya
Just servin' it cold in a dirty old glass, every shot's a mirror, every sip's your past
Ain't no flames, just flickerin' signs and the same sad song stuck on rewind
I came lookin' for peace, what a synonym, hell's just a town with a two—drink minimum
There's a booth in back where she still cries, mascara rivers, bloodshot eyes
I bought her love with a half—sober vow, left it broke and can't fix it now
There's a barfly laughin' with a gunshot grin, claims he's lost count how many times he's sinned
He toasts to pain, I toast to her,we all toast to what we never were
CHORUS
Hell's just a town with a two—drink minimum, where the ice melts slow but the guilt is sizzlin'
Where every toast is to coulda—beens, and the Devil just smiles as he pours you in
No fire below, just flickering light, where last calls come but never feel right
You think you're passin' through, but you ain't fittin' in, hell's just a town with a two—drink minimum
BRIDGE
The mirror behind the bar don't lie, shows every fight I didn't justify
Shows every bed I never made, every promise I let rot and fade
And the jukebox, it ain't got nothin' new
Just B—sides of the cowboy I left behind
CHORUS
Hell's just a town with a two—drink minimum, a place where every song's got venom in em
You pay your tab with blood and grace and you leave with nothin' but your own damn face
Ain't no flames, just old mistakes served with lime and heartache shakes
If Heaven's a promise, then this is the fine print hell's just a townyeah, hell's just a town
With a two—drink minimum
Bartender pours, gives a wink and a grin:
Same thing tomorrow?
I nod and sip again
COPYRIGHT 1988, Pat Melfi
Palace Coup Music Publishing (BMI)