Evening's end, a hotel bar

Sleep awaits, but not before

A glass of wine, a cabernet

A song or two the girl will play

But in the room is so much more

The best have gathered to perform

As scattered among the business crowd

Are those who richly croon aloud

They shake the walls and cause a sight.

Hotel Westgate, ev'ry night.

 

Instead of heading up to bed

A concert'd fetch two bills -- instead

Believe not such a thund'rous boom

Be produced in such a tiny room

Voices textbook in their soundings

Piano raucous in their poundings

A good excuse to stay awake

And watch the walls and glasses shake

Voices leap to stunning heights

Hotel Westgate, ev'ry night

 

Two songs in, my ears in flames

I saunter up to bar back James

A kindly man, a British sort

Who slings the drinks while we cavort

Talent stuffed, they gather here?

"Ev'ry night for 30 years."

Flawless song, passion aplenty

In a room just more than twenty.

Voices echo in powered might

Hotel Westgate, ev'ry night.

 

For thirty years, James says, they've met

Standards, oldies, show tune sets

Dietrich, Rat Pack, Gershwin sung

Dramatic opera, foreign tongue

A classy joint, that much is clear

By the intricate double-chandelier

Jewels and suits and evening gowns

An old-world place in new downtown

Travelers saved from lonesome plights

Hotel Westgate, ev'ry night

 

Third hour past and drunk am I

Not from wine, but voices high

Conga lines approach piano

Though all await the tenor, Daniel

He takes his place to loud applause

But chords of Phantom give them pause

The Steinway thunders, the tenor bellows

Silencing observing fellows

A voice with power that stirs a fright

Hotel Westgate, ev'ry night

 

Passion-filled, he sings with rage

More expert than ever on the stage

First-time jaws all fall agape

As Webber's song takes perfect shape

Lobby patrons flow inside

Swept up in his vocal tide

The Phantom cries to vocal brinks

An' the crowd lines up to buy him drinks

Performing "Music of the Night"

Hotel Westgate, ev'ry night

 

Sauced and spent, to my regret

They harmonize their last duet

And though the patrons beg and plead

Saloons have liquor laws to heed

And out we go, but not before

I vow to visit them once more.

 

Who'd have known that one can see

A secret show tune society

Whose only pay is pure delight

Hotel Westgate, ev'ry night.

 

 

Written by Todd