Standing Order

He takes the corner booth at half past eight Same wine, same smile, same handshake rate The maître d' knows his name and his game And nothing around here's gonna change He's got a standing order at every door A practiced nod for the people he scores The room arranges itself to his taste And no one moves at an improper pace You'd think that he invented the clock But all he did was learn to not stop Oh he's got a standing order Same time, same table, same seat Got a standing order Arrangements so complete Everything delivered on time No surprise, no redesign He's got a standing order And it reads like an epitaph in three-four rhyme He keeps his critics filed and contained Under the heading of small, unmaintained He built a room where the echo agrees And furnished it carefully The view from his window is a painting he chose A still life of options that nobody knows He'll tell you the story if you've got the night And make it sound almost right You'd think that he invented the clock But all he did was learn to not stop Oh he's got a standing order Same time, same table, same seat Got a standing order Arrangements so complete Everything delivered on time No surprise, no redesign He's got a standing order And it reads like an epitaph in three-four rhyme He's not wrong He's not afraid He's just been playing the same hand Since it paid Oh he's got a standing order Same time, same table, same seat Got a standing order Arrangements so complete Everything delivered on time No redesign, no overtime He's got a standing order Standing order Same table, same seat Standing order