Every Table's Got a Story

[Куплет 1] At the corner table by the pastry case I set my notebook down and find my place A cortado warms my hands; the room is all in motion A courier tells the cashier he’s bound for santa rosa Two grad students trade a map and argue over names The woman by the window laughs like she knows the game I catch a phrase, then turn it till it fits The whole café is handing me its bits [Алдынғы қайырма] One voice becomes a captain, one a judge A stranger’s sigh can move a plot along I barely have to nudge it [Қайырма] Every table’s got a story passing through Every voice gives somebody something new I take a sip, the whole room starts to turn A dozen little lives and all their bridges burn Then i write them down before they disappear The café keeps on talking; i can hear A city made of strangers coming into view Every table’s got a story passing through [Куплет 2] A baker counts his change and hums a tune A student says she’ll leave by late afternoon Two old friends compare the jobs they almost took A boy draws silver rockets in the margin of a book I give the baker a ship with a stubborn sail The student gets a train that never runs on schedule And those two friends, at last, take the road they missed The boy draws one more planet, then he grins [Алдынғы қайырма] The chatter doesn’t tell me where to go It gives me little sparks and lets them grow I follow where they lead me [Қайырма] Every table’s got a story passing through Every voice gives somebody something new I take a sip, the whole room starts to turn A dozen little lives and all their bridges burn Then i write them down before they disappear The café keeps on talking; i can hear A city made of strangers coming into view Every table’s got a story passing through [Көпір] My cup is nearly gone, my page is running out The door swings open, brings another voice about A woman says, “i made it,” softly to her phone And suddenly my hero doesn’t have to go alone [Final chorus] Every table’s got a story passing through Every voice gives somebody something new I take one last sip, the whole room starts to turn A dozen little lives with somewhere left to learn I write them down while all their voices meet The café keeps its time in clatter and in speech A city made of strangers coming into view Every table’s got a story passing through [Аутро] One more line before i go One more face i’ll never know