PNW Strip Club

Welcome To The Portland Strip

[Intro]

Neon sign says “Open late”

Faded denim

One-way gate

Cash in the pocket

Heart off beat

[Verse 1]

Welcome to the strip club

Portland

Oregon

Rain on the awning

Line round the corner

Buzz at the door

ID flash

Red stamp on my wrist

Carpet smell

Perfume mist

DJ tucked in a smoky booth

Calling names like truth or dare

[Chorus]

Welcome to the strip club in Portland

Oregon

Bills in the air

Slow motion

Tattooed angels

Spin like hurricanes

Everybody lost

Everybody stays

Welcome to the strip club in Portland

Oregon

[Verse 2]

Barkeep sliding cherry drinks

Eyes meet

Look away

Then think

Stage lights bloom in pink and green

She smiles sharp

Says “You been here?”

Boots hit chrome

Crowd goes hush

Phone screens up

Hearts all rush

Raincoat piles by the speaker stack

Outside storms

In here won’t look back

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

Booth in the back

Friends talk big

“I’m leaving early”

But we never did

Tip rail glitter on our shoes

Morning’s coming

We refuse

Mirror in the hallway

Smudged and true

Is it the club

Or is it you?

[Chorus]

Stage Lights On Me

[Verse 1]

Clock in

Gloss on

Name tag says “a different one”

Cash talk

Perfume

Red heels waiting in the room

Neon on my shoulders

Glitter running down my spine

Eyes up in the mirror

Say

“baby

All of this is mine”

[Chorus]

Stage lights on me

I control the view

You can look

You can want

But you don’t touch the truth

I make the rules when I bend

When I move

Stage lights on me

Stage lights on me

I choose

[Verse 2]

Small bills

Big talk

“Where you from?” I laugh it off

Spin slow

Slow drop

Hear the DJ cut the soft

Rent due

Nails done

I can turn your paycheck into fun

You think you see all of me

You’re paying just to chase what you can’t keep

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

First row

Front seat

You don’t even know my real name

Under all this shine

I’m the one that holds the game

Hands on the rail

Heart on the shelf

You throw your money

I’m stacking for myself

[Chorus]

Backroom Manager

[Verse 1]

Count cash

Eyes glass

VIP wristbands

Run it past

Sunday night

Same slow dance

Stale smoke stuck in my jacket

Girls laugh

Drama in the backroom

Pay out

Break up the catfight

Pop two just to get my hands right

Smile on

Bloodshot in the black light

[Chorus]

I’m the manager

I’m the mess

Make the schedule

Make a guess

Who’s sober

Who’s spinning

Who’s stressed

In this big room of tiny regrets

I’m the manager

I’m the ghost

Turn the music up

Toast to the overdose

If the lights came up

I’d never pass the test

I’m the manager

I’m the mess

[Verse 2]

DJ late

Owner callin’

“House fee short

” my jaw keeps lockin’

Bathroom stall

I’m stalling

Red eyes staring at the mosaic

Tip out

Tell ‘em “baby

You killed it” (you did)

Pocket something just to feel it

Walk the floor like I’m still in it

Stage lights spin

Mind keeps spilling

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

Who counts the counters?

Who watches the watchman?

I’m comping their shots

Then I’m swallowing my own hand

Phone full of numbers

Names I can’t place

Everybody wants a favor

I just want another taste

[Chorus]

Guard Dog At The Door

[Verse 1]

Stamp on the hand

Eyes on the room

Red dress laughing

Back booth gloom

I’m on that wall

Shoulder to the glass

Clock in my head

Slow count

Fast cash

[Chorus]

I’m the guard dog at the door

Yeah

You don’t cross that line tonight

If you touch her like you own her

You and I gon’ have that fight

She’s at work

This ain’t your playground

You forget what you came here for

You see glitter

I see danger

I’m the guard dog at the door

[Verse 2]

He leans too close

Breath on her face

I read her eyes

“Get him out this place”

Hand on his wrist

“Time to go

My friend”

He talks real tough

But it’s over by the end

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

They call me mean

They call me stone

But they walk out

They get home

I’ll take the names

I’ll take the hate

Her heels are high

So I stand straight

[Chorus]

Backroom Confessions

[Verse 1]

Neon on my name tag

Glitter on my shoes

Laughing in the hallway

Like I got nothing to lose

Line by the bathroom

Card in my bra

Smile like a service

Eyes say “nah”

[Chorus]

I sell sins in the bathroom stall

Cheap perfume

High-priced fall

They say "baby

You could have it all"

But they don't see me at all

I sell sins in the bathroom stall

Lipstick stains on a cracked white wall

Count that cash

Try to stand tall

But they don't see me at all

[Verse 2]

Sink drip

Cold tile

Back against the door

His breath says married

His ring on the floor

I joke

“you’re a regular”

He laughs like it’s true

He forgets my real name

I kind of do too

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

Tips in a tip jar

Stories in my skin

Wash my hands raw

Like it cleans what I’m in

Hear the bass thump

While I fix my face

Every little secret

Got a storage space

[Chorus]

Last Call At Center Stage

[Verse 1]

Glitter on my sneakers

Cash stuck to the bar

Your drink’s sweating in my fingers

You’re staring too hard

Stage lights hit her shoulders

They chant her name

I’m lining up the liquor

Counting tips like prayers

[Chorus]

I’m not the one on the pole

I’m the one pouring gold in your glass

You tell your secrets in the smoke

I watch ’em rise and I just laugh

You fall in love with that song

I fall in love with the sound of the till

You chase a dream in the dark

I’m just working this room till it’s still

[Verse 2]

Her lashes in the ice bin

Lipstick on the rim

Manager in the corner

Clock watching

Eyes dim

Bouncer at the doorway

Nods when trouble walks in

I slide him a look and a napkin

Like

“Here we go again”

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

Last call hits like sunrise

Neon buzzing low

You’re slurring ’bout your heartbreak

I’m stacking to-go

You ask me if I ever dance

I just raise a brow

I already balance on this edge

I’m spinning right now

[Chorus]