The Hold Steady – T-Shirt Tux lyrics

There’s that girl from your work and she’s here with some guy
He’s got a t-shirt tux and piano key tie
The rest of us were rolling our eyes at the handshake he did with the doorman
But that’s how he gets the stuff that makes him feel so important

And we all need something to get through the night
'Cause the kitchen gets hot and the fingers get fried
A Pontius Pilate played to the crowd and they all thought they knew what he wanted
And everyone’s sorry when they see that it’s dawn, I assume that’s the reason we do this
And me and the guy with the piano key tie are probably gonna play right through this

Tiny little triumphs, massive bloody failures
I hear that there were sailors who dread coming to shore
I Guess it’s true, it’s true I guess
But tonight I fear my sensors aren’t receiving at their best

And everyone talks about they hate that they’re here
Baring their teeth and sharpening spears
The stuff that they put in the punch bowl tonight makes it too hard to pay much attention
But your war of attrition turned out to be a major attraction

A boy and a girl were draining their beers
He said “Stalin was a weatherman to start his career
And Johnny Cash was in the service when the news came through the wire
And it’s weird how you feel when bad people die”
She said “Yeah I guess, whatever
All your fun little facts are never going to keep us together”

We'll all be doomed once we leave this room
We’re spinning through the turnstiles
And we’re sleeping in our shoes
While we’re sad and stoned
While we’re all hooked up at home
But when we leave the house we’re homesick
Got the disconnection blues
There were multiple dispensers and some friends we couldn’t use

There’s a candle on the table, there’s a photo on the fridge
There’s a bunch of things we said we were gonna do and never did
And sometimes it’s all slippery sidewalks, and trying to find a place to park
Turning on a burner that never catches spark
They said everything’s perception but that’s not really right
Let’s all try to tell a little truth tonight
Let’s all try to tell a little truth tonight