This is my great, sweeping ballad … my Piano Man, if you will. Tinged with chili powder.
The story’s pretty straightforward. You’ve got this couple leading stressful, unsatisfying lives, but making do the best they can. A large part of their coping strategy revolves around a regular date on Thursday nights at the local Holiday Inn bar, where they can nosh on some beer and chips. They obviously get an inordinate amount of pleasure from this cheesy little dive and see no irony in that. They are not slumming, they are not doing anything post-modern. They are enjoying themselves, and it’s important.
Note that although this is the title track of the CD, it is not about the place where the cover picture was taken. If you read my liner notes, you’ll see that the original Fiesta Time was quite the swinging joint in its day, far from the rather lame place I depict in the song.
The only actual restaurant inspiration this song has comes from a Chinese buffet that may or may not still be on the immediate outskirts of a mall in Burlington, VT. The food was marginal to bad, but as I looked around, I saw a number of people that struck me as “the regulars”. Clusters of women sharing a work lunch. Grandparents and grandkids. They weren’t put off by the the skin on the mandarin gravy or the fact that the hot ‘n’ sour soup was neither. They were just enjoying the atmosphere and the company. That’s as important as authenticity of cuisine, and probably more so. These places serve a genuine function. I guess that’s the point I’m trying to make.
lyrics
It’s been a hard week at McAllister Savings and Loan
I’ve been working my processing fingers right down to the bone
But when I remember it’s Thursday, I stifle a grin
It’s Mexican Night at the bar at the Holiday Inn
I call up my wife and remind her we’re on for tonight
She has to work late at the store, but she’s ready alright
She’ll get home by 6 and she’ll throw on a dress and we’ll go
It’s the second best thing to a visit to old Me-hee-co
Chorus:
And may this fiesta wash all of our worries away
The blond senoritas and cheap margaritas
And bartender shouting “Ole!”
He’s wearing a tassled sombrero
And he’s very flamboyantly gay
And may this fiesta wash all of our worries away
The faded pinata is hung by the Michelob sign
And the stereo’s playing Herb Alpert in three-quarter time
The salsa and chips are as bueno as bueno can be
It’s hard to believe you get something this good just for free
We order a pitcher and maybe a taco or two
And my wife gets a little bit tipsy as she tends to do
We’ll soak up the mood for an hour or two, then we’ll go
It’s the second best thing to a visit to old Me-hee-co
Chorus:
And may this fiesta wash all of our worries away
The blond senoritas and cheap margaritas
And bartender shouting “Ole!”
The napkins say something in Spanish
I have no idea what they say
And may this fiesta wash all of our worries away
And tomorrow is Friday and we’ll be too tired to care
And we’ll sleep in on Saturday, wake up, the day’s hardly there
Then Sunday zips by and we’ll heave a deep sigh
And the week starts all over again
Until Mexican Night at the bar at the Holiday Inn
Chorus:
And may this fiesta wash all of our worries away
The blond senoritas and cheap margaritas
And bartender shouting “Ole!”
Maybe next time I’ll try the fajitas
Or even the chicken mole
And may this fiesta wash all of our worries
May this fiesta wash all of our worries
May this fiesta wash all of our worries away
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