EL OCHO SIN BIZCOCHO

Este año, otra canción, habitual de mi carpeta "Imprescindibles" en el presente y habitante de varias de mis añejas cintas grabadas en una cadena de música, si es que queda alguien que sepa que es eso. Hoy, con ustedes Billy Joel:

The Piano Man

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 say, 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

Da da da de de da 
da da de de da da da 
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 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 or to light up your smoke 
But there's someplace 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

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 feelin' alright

Now Paul is a real estate novelist 
Who never had time for a wife 
And he's talking with Davy who's still in the navy 
And probably will be for life 
And the waitress is practicing politics 
As the businessmen slowly get stoned 
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness 
But it's better than drinking alone 
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 coming to see 
To forget about life for awhile. 
And the piano 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?"

Da da da de de da 
da da de de da da da 
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 feelin' alright. 

El verano en el que aún tenía veinte años e iba ya anticipando los veintiuno -una mala costumbre que conservo intacta- , en mi primer hotel, en 1995, quise fotocopiar la letra de esta canción de un cuaderno del karaoke, siempre me gustó, aunque era muy triste y me daba un poco de miedo.

Entonces sonaba lejana, la veía romántica en plan "La Mítica del Perdedor" y todo eso que me gusta pensar a veces; hoy ha vuelto a sonar y la he visto como un espejo, he visto claro que yo también estoy en ese bar y que de ahí ya no voy a salir, es muy poco probable, eso si aún quedan bares.

Con treinta y ocho años que he empezado a cumplir hace media hora y sigo en este bar, me lo imaginaba. No podía ser de otro modo.

Al menos no es la versión de Rosa León.