John Cale, Bob Neuwirth - Café Shabu lyrics

Welcome to the Café Shabu
Permit me to introduce you to some of our regulars
Starting on my immediate left, ladies and gentlemen, here in Café Shabu, you'll note a poet, a man of words by trade
And yes, that's a refugee from an unnamed political philosophy, come here to spread his message of joy and peace amongst us
Thank you very much sir
Over here, next to him we see a lady who has traded in a lifestyle of the rich and famous for work with underprivileged and exceptional children which I am sure makes her very pleased with herself, ladies and gentlemen
Sitting next to her a man of letters and words and moods
A man who spent most of his life deceiving himself and now finds himself facing six years in rehabilitation prison and a death sentence on the outside
Sitting next to him on a banquette, a ballerina
She's had two grapes, a raisin, and a chicklet, and she's full
In fact, she's been stuffed for years
Next to her are two spinsters knitting their way in and out of various predicaments coloured by the excesses of their ancestors
And close by them, some surreal painter's brooding over the very over-emphasis of colour-violence
Violence on the blue end of the scale
Next to them, two off-duty detectives checking each other out
Next door to the sugarholics, see them shivering, see them staring into the distance, see them growing, oh, see them go comatose
Insulin please, Maitre D'! On my immediate right several politicians smiling lizard-like, see them assure themselves that their status is indeed quo

Rip up the cheques said the Maitre D'
See if I care
I do this for the company
I've got no-one to trust any secrets to but myself
In the basement, in the vault, in the attic on the walls are the pictures I take in part-payment for my time
And the waitress reminds you that in the backroom bathed in red, glowing with the speed of light that reflects the demands of the living for the dead, are our angels, a host at your service to meet your every need
So order up, the waitress said
Our great café serves everything