Missing Link

Desde hace un tiempo vengo revisando viejos discos y recuperando viejos temas. Así fue que me reencontré con Piano Man de Billy Joel, una de las melodías más hermosas que he escuchado. Y al ponerme a prestarle atención a la letra me di cuenta de que tiene una poesía increíble. Billy fue capaz de resumir en una canción todo lo que pasa en un bar. Corazones solitarios en busca de algo de compañía, aunque sea por un rato. O almas perdidas en busca de consejo (para quienes no hay mejor consejero que el que sirve bebidas del otro lado de la barra).
Gente, sépanlo: un bar no es una rejunte de borrachos, es mucho más que eso, es un refugio, un respiro, un lugar desde donde mirar la vida desde otro lado. Mi última visita a un bar me abrió los ojos y le agradezco a esas burbujitas doradas haberme tirado una pista.

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."
la la la, di da da
La la, di di da da dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us all feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke and he'll light up your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessman slowly gets stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
Sing us a song you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
well we're all in the mood for a melody
and you got us all feeling alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Sing us a song you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
well we're all in the mood for a melody
and you got us all feeling alright