[Intro — dry solo vocal; two wooden clicks answer] Stack the chairs Don’t clear the floor [Kick and bass enter; short brass response] One more— You know what for [Verse 1 — clipped, smiling tenor; lean groove] House lights up, your jacket on Half your lipstick on my glass Someone’s counting at the bar We keep letting taxis pass Chairs go upside down in rows Lemon cleaner in the air He’s waiting with a mop in hand But his left foot’s halfway there [Pre-Chorus — bass ducks; percussion stays moving] I see that shoe beneath the cuff You know the rhythm well enough He leaves the bucket by the door That’s one more body on the floor [Chorus — spacious rhythmic melody; bass answers between lines] Stack the chairs, don’t clear the floor We found what we came here for Turn that key, then turn once more Stack the chairs, don’t clear the floor One more step, a little less space That tired smile falls off your face You leave your jacket by the door Stack the chairs, don’t clear the floor [Drop 1 — sixteen bars; syncopated bass, dry congas, wooden-click signature; sparse solo vocal punctuation] Don’t clear the floor [Four-bar instrumental response] One more [Four-bar instrumental response] You know what for [Instrumental groove continues] [Verse 2 — buoyant, conversational] She shuts the till and frees her hair Slips her apron off one side Says, “I’ve heard this beat all night” Then she shows us how to slide Someone hands the doorman water He rolls his shoulders to the snare All the people serving strangers Finally get their moment there [Pre-Chorus — kick drops for two bars; rim and bass pickup] Nobody’s watching what we spend Nobody’s asking when we’ll end The man who pointed to the door Is sliding backwards past us all [Chorus — fuller percussion; selective same-voice doubles] Stack the chairs, don’t clear the floor We found what we came here for Turn that key, then turn once more Stack the chairs, don’t clear the floor One more step, a little less space That tired smile falls off your face You leave your jacket by the door Stack the chairs, don’t clear the floor [Breakdown — four bars; wooden clicks, hand percussion, close vocal] We’ll help you with the glasses We’ll get the chairs at dawn You’ve been on your feet all evening Have a dance before we’re gone [Four-bar build — conga roll, filtered bass; one-beat silence] [Final Drop — sixteen bars; bass variation and bright brass counter-riff; single lead ad-libs] Stack the chairs Don’t clear the floor [Instrumental response] One more— You know what for [Eight bars of instrumental groove; no extra lyrics] [Outro — four bars; percussion strips to wooden clicks] House lights up We’re still here [Dry, smiling vocal] All right— I’ll take those chairs [Clean rhythmic stop]
