[Intro — easy piano, brushed snare, a little room chatter] Forty minutes up to Fresno, Everybody in the car. “Are we there yet?” from the back seat— We ain't even gone that far. [Verse 1] Pulled up to The Crawfish Guy, Found ourselves a table wide. Other families all around us, Laughing just as loud as mine. They brought the gloves and little aprons, We tied ours on with pride. Then here came that great big bowl, And every pair of eyes went wide. [Chorus] Hands in the bowl, let the good times roll, Corn and shrimp and crawdads down below. Pass that sausage, save me one— Look away a second and it's gone. Everybody reaching, everybody grinning, Nobody remembers who was winning. Forty minutes up the road, For the last one in the bowl. [Verse 2] Little fingers learning how to peel, Grown folks showing what they know. Somebody says, “You're doing it wrong,” Then loses theirs and lets it go. We got gloves, but somehow still That smell comes riding home. And one stray spot of sauce will tell Exactly where we've been. [Chorus] Hands in the bowl, let the good times roll, Corn and shrimp and crawdads down below. Pass that sausage, save me one— Look away a second and it's gone. Everybody reaching, everybody grinning, Nobody remembers who was winning. Forty minutes up the road, For the last one in the bowl. [Instrumental — piano and clarinet trade short, playful lines] [Bridge] We don't make the trip every weekend; It's a once-in-a-while kind of treat. But you can't put a price on that table When the whole crew's there to eat. One crawdad left, six hands hovering— “Go on.” “No, you go ahead.” Then the smallest hand slips through the middle, And we laugh till our faces turn red. [Final Chorus] Hands in the bowl, let the good times roll, Nothing left but corn and stories to go. Pass a napkin, find my keys— Somebody's still got sauce upon their sleeve. Everybody reaching, everybody grinning, That little hand knew how to win it. Forty minutes back toward home, Still talking 'bout the last one in the bowl. [Outro — band eases down] Forty minutes back toward home... And we'll come again next year.
