Written by Rickie Lee Jones
Downstairs at Danny’s all-star joint
They got a juke box that goes doyt-doyt
The vice is nice, they stay in the back all day
But when the nighttime comes, hey-hey
There’s this cat down there that makes a bad kinda soup
I come around struttin’ my luck in my shoop coupe
Cecil gives me coffee
And he won’t never take my coin
I say, ” I got thirty dollars in my pocket!
Whatchoo doin’? “
I holler, ” Come on, Cecil, take a dollar!
Come on, Cecil, take a ten!
I’ve finally geared up into a whole buncha big ones
And you’re actin’ like I’m down-shiftin’ “
He knows all the under-riders on the boulevard
They got to barefoot cruise when it’s forty-weight hard
They look particularly dead-beat
Permanently pale
Cecil picks up his butcher knife
Waves it at the jail
The kid say, ” I ain’t got no dough, Joe, I just want some OJ “
I said, ” Don’t look at me ” ( Cuz he was lookin’ my way )
Cecil wink upon him some juice and some green
And the kid walks over and puts the quarter in the pinball machine
And he says, ” Come on, Cec, gimme a dollar
Come on Cecil gimme five
I’m in a halfway house on a one-way street
And I’m a quarter past left alive “
He can talk about your people in a wonderful way
He can talk about your people ’til your hair turns gray
Your sister’s into mustard
She loves to walk the pub
She likes the pickles and the relish she never gets enough
A Hershey milkshake steamin’ on a stick
For a Card Blanché sandwich
Oh, lettuce get thick
It’s not because I’m dirty
It’s not because I’m clean
It’s not because I kiss the boys behind the magazine
Hey boys?
How ’bout a fight?
Cuz here comes Rickie with the girdle on tight
And if she don’t know your name
She knows what you got
From Your matzo balls
To the chicken-in-the-pot
chicken-in-the-pot
chicken-in-the-pot
Downstairs at Danny’s All Star Joint
They got a juke box that goes doyt-doyt
A finger-snappin’ deluxe
Make your be-bop bap
And your R&B hep-scat
You can’t break the rules until you know how to play the game
But if you just want to have a little fun
You can mention my name
Keep your feet in the street
Your toes in the lawn
But keep your business in your pocket
This is it were it belongs
Come on Cecil, take a dollar
Come on Cecil, take a tip
Do yourself a favor If she offers it – take it
But honey, don’t give it away if he don’t appreciate it