"There is a Tavern in the Town"

Everybody sing along! You know this one! And it's easy to imagine this sung in a British pub somewhere. Or maybe in Boston. I like learning these, more original, at least, lyrics to it, since I've heard so many other words set to this tune.

My favorite bars were always the slightly seedy ones, with sticky floors, in basements. Wooden benches, lots of beer--which wasn't helpful when I was drinking mixed drinks, but I was friends with the bartender, and she hooked me up with something that tasted good. The classier bars sometimes had better dance music, which was another big draw for me, though after that first wild year of heavy drinking, I never drank when I danced. It didn't make me, or my similarly-viewed friends, popular with the bar, but I always tried to tip heavily when the bartender kept my water glass full.

I have very fond memories of the sticky-floor days, and the dancing days. I was thinking today--as a part of the 'ideal fortieth birthday celebration idle thoughts'--that part of what I'd really like to do is dance: go out dancing, take up the dance meditation program again, do tango, even dance more in my living room. Still pondering. I don't think the sticky floor has to be involved, but as my friend Anita would say, 'I wouldn't kick it out of bed, either'.