We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Goblin

from Confusing Times by Tyler Shipley

/

lyrics

It’s more than six months in lockdown and generally I’m doing ok
but one thing that’s nagging at me more and more every day
is how I want to go into a warm pub somewhere in the UK
draw a pint and another and order some food and stay

As long as I like, comfortable at the corner
of a place like the goblin ha where years ago I was bartender
it wasn’t a cool job like it is over here
more like being a fixed point in people’s day, a familiar face willing to hear

Whatever bullshit people wanted to get off their chest
sometimes it was light and funny sometimes it had a lotta heft
but life was lived and it went on and everyone was a little less alone
and for a public bar it felt a little bit like a home

And I romanticize this experience now that’s it’s over
at the time I wasn’t always happy and I was a bit of a loner
sometimes I’d play the piano until the owner told me to cut it out
because I was depressing all the customers and sales were going down

And I remember this guy who struggled with narcolepsy
he would go to the bathroom and sometimes in there he would disappear
and we had to go find him and make sure he hadn’t hit his head
he wanted to work on the Queen Mary cruise ship and I doubt that ever happened for him

But he was always welcome to rest his head on the countertop
and I’d set his drink aside until whenever he woke up
life was being lived and though I was far from home
I found a way to make this place my own

I can’t say I was living healthy and it was sustainable
but it was part of a process of coming out of my shell
and I learned to hate the Tories and the English and Tony Blair
and how to iron a shirt and when to head upstairs

And the two farmers who came into the bar every night before close
and ordered a line of 6 drinks to nurse until the sun rose
it probably wasn’t legal but I didn’t ask any questions
I was being paid under the table to avoid any extra taxes

And I remember a chef throwing a plate at someone’s head
but he ducked out of the way so it hit his girlfriend
there was a lot of blood and it caused a serious clutter
but somehow we became friends and he called me 'seal clubber'

I’m not sure there’s any grand lesson in these stories
sometimes it’s hard to relate to this stuff now I'm approaching my forties
but just for an evening I’d love to pop my head back in
and spend a quiet night in the corner of the Goblin

credits

from Confusing Times, released February 3, 2024

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Tyler Shipley image

Tyler Shipley Toronto, Ontario

Tyler Shipley was the founding member of the Consumer Goods (theconsumergoods.bandcamp.com) and now performs as a solo artist.

contact / help

Contact Tyler Shipley

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

Tyler Shipley recommends:

If you like Tyler Shipley, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Seafood Sam joins the show to discuss his newest album, " Standing On Giant Shoulders".
listen now