[Verse 1: Rock-opera male lead, theatrical, every line landed on the snare] Ladies and gentlemen, the curtain and the knee Mister Cribbs in a tuxedo and the man who works him, me Thirty years of supper clubs, a glass of milk, a joke I could drink it while he's singin' and you'd never see me choke But tonight on Halloween he said a line I never threw Told the lady at table nine where her husband was at two And the room fell out laughin', every napkin in the air And I laughed along beside him with a cold and empty stare [Verse 2: Rock-opera male lead, colder, building to the hook] So I locked him in the trunk and I buckled every strap Rolled it out behind the club in the rain beside the trash Woke up in the dressin' room with a weight across my knee Little patent shoes a-swingin', and his eyes were set on me Then he cleared his little throat with a creak like a door And he said, Cribbs and Company, we booked us two shows more [Hook: Rock-opera male lead, full band, huge rock-opera hook] It's all lip service, my lips don't move Every word out of the wood is a little too true Keep a smile on my mouth and a hand in his suit It's all lip service, my lips don't move [Bridge: Rock-opera male lead, the gulp, the band stops while he drains a full glass of milk and the doll keeps singing over the swallow, then the band crashes in] Glass to my mouth and I tip it up slow Every drop goin' down while the little voice goes Ladies and gentlemen, he never threw a thing Thirty years I been workin' the man who thinks he sings [Verse 3: Rock-opera male lead, full theatrical, the reveal on every downbeat] Now I'm countin' back the years and I can't recall a night That I lifted him to sit, he was always on my right And I never feel a hand when I'm reachin' in his back But I feel somethin' reachin' into mine and pullin' slack Every mornin' I wake up with my jaw already sore 'Cause he works it while I'm sleepin' for the shows the night before So applaud him, ladies, gentlemen, he's earned it fair and square Take a look at who is sittin' and a look at who's the chair [Final Hook: Rock-opera male lead, full band, huge rock-opera hook, the doll's voice on top] It's all lip service, my lips don't move Every word out of the wood is a little too true Keep a smile on my mouth and a hand in his suit It's all lip service, my lips don't move [Outro: Rock-opera male lead, one last band hit, the curtain line] Thank you, goodnight, we are here all week And nobody noticed that my lips don't speak [End]
