[Cold open: dry, smiling male vocal; finger snaps] Don’t put the chairs up. This one’s on the house. [Immediate groove: piano riff, warm bass, tight kick] [Three-note muted-trumpet answer] [Verse 1: intimate crooner; easy rhythmic phrasing] You count the till, I coil the leads, The kitchen light comes on. A pale square where our sign once hung— They took it down at dawn. You find an earring underneath The same old corner chair. Still put it safely by the till, Like someone’s coming back for it. [Pre-chorus: piano opens; melody rises] Your apron’s tied a little tight, Your feet have had enough. For once, there’s nothing left to do But let me turn it up. [Chorus: broad, singable; leave space after the title] This one’s on the house, Put your troubles down. You’ve been holding this place together— Let it hold you now. This one’s on the house, Take the long way round. You don’t have to earn this dance. Let the room move you now. [Post-chorus: rhythmic lead; trumpet call and response] On the house. On the house. Let the room move you now. [Instrumental: eight bars; rolling piano hook, trumpet answers] [Verse 2: warmer, amused; percussion gains movement] The chef comes sliding through the door, Still wearing kitchen whites. He says he’s got two left feet— You say, “Then use them both tonight.” You steal the towel off his arm, He gives a crooked bow. I miss the words I’ve sung for years— Nobody needs them now. [Pre-chorus: drums pull back; personal shift] You reach your hand across the stage, I point down at the wire. You unplug fifteen years of me And say, “Come join us for a while.” [Chorus: fuller bass and piano; restrained self-harmonies] This one’s on the house, Put your troubles down. You’ve been holding this place together— Let it hold you now. This one’s on the house, Take the long way round. You don’t have to earn this dance. Let the room move you now. [Bridge: close vocal; piano and faint room ambience] Without a song, without a stage, I don’t know where to stand. You don’t ask me for another— You just take my hand. [One beat of silence] [Final chorus: full groove; richer piano voicings, emotional release] This one’s on the house, Put our troubles down. We’ve been holding this place together— Let it hold us now. This one’s on the house, One more time around. We don’t have to earn this dance. Let the room move us now. [Final instrumental: eight bars; brighter trumpet variation] On the house. On the house. Let the room move us now. [Outro: piano remains; intimate, almost spoken] They can take the sign tomorrow. Tonight, we know the way.
