Get a Job
(Beal, E/ Edwards, R/ Horton, W/ Lewis, R) Performed by Sha Na Na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na na
Ev'ry morning about this time
She get me out of my bed
A-crying, get a job
After breakfast ev'ry nay
She throws the want ads right my way
And never fails to say
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na na
And when I get the paper
I read it through and through
And my girl never fails to say
If there is any work for me
And when I go back to the house
I hear the woman's mouth
Preaching and a-crying
Tell me that I'm lying
'Bout a job that I never could find
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na
And when I get the paper
I read it through and through
And my girl never fails to say
If there is any work for me
And when I go back to the house
I hear the woman's mouth
Preaching and a-crying
Tell me that I'm lying
'Bout a job that I never could find
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na na
Ev'ry morning about this time
She get me out of my bed
A-crying, get a job
After breakfast ev'ry nay
She throws the want ads right my way
And never fails to say
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na na
And when I get the paper
I read it through and through
And my girl never fails to say
If there is any work for me
And when I go back to the house
I hear the woman's mouth
Preaching and a-crying
Tell me that I'm lying
'Bout a job that I never could find
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na
And when I get the paper
I read it through and through
And my girl never fails to say
If there is any work for me
And when I go back to the house
I hear the woman's mouth
Preaching and a-crying
Tell me that I'm lying
'Bout a job that I never could find
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
\
This week's song pick is a very literal choice for what happened next in my life. As I left off last week, it's now the fall of 1989, I couldn't quite support myself on the money they were paying me to be a front desk clerk at the Mayfair, and seeing how much tip money the wait staff in the hotel's restaurant were raking in (even Dave was able to support himself as a full time university student with a part time waiter job), I decided to look around for a waitressing job of my own. Only distributing my exaggerated resumes to places that had advertised in the paper, one of the establishments I ended up at was the not-too-promising basement restaurant and bar called Sha Na Na's. I couldn't have imagined at the time how influential this place would be to the person I would become; how outsized it would forever remain in my memory. As an aside, I did indeed watch the Sha Na Na variety show with my family as a kid, baritoning along with Bowzer and falsettoing in tune with that other guy (lol). "Sha Na Na's" might be (okay, is) a stupid name for a night club, but right from the start it felt safe and familiar.
I remember that it was a youngish bartender that I handed my resume to, and before he glanced at it, he asked me how old I was. Just short of my 22nd birthday, I replied, "Twenty-two", and then he looked down, calculated my age and said, "But it says here twenty-one." I laughed it off, unable to explain even to myself why I would have started with a fib, and wondered if I had blown the opportunity with the first words out of my mouth. In the end it didn't matter because I got the job (sha na na na, sha na na na na).
This was Sha Na Na's: In the basement of a downtown Edmonton building (I have no memory of what happened at ground level), and not really close to anything of interest, the original idea of the restaurant/bar was to be a fifties diner with a sockhop dance floor. When you came down the stairs and passed the coat room and washrooms to your left, you could either turn right into the restaurant (all low tables with club chairs), turn left into the lounge (a mix of high and low tables, with stools and a chest-high bar surrounding the checkerboard, disco-balled dance floor), or head straight to the stand-up bar that spanned the back wall of the room. I had actually been in the bar once over the previous year with Curtis and his brother (of all people) because of their great happy hour deal (two for one beer and highballs @ $2.75), but even though it had been a good deal and the place was nice enough, I had never thought to go back; it was just missing something, and management knew it.
And the management: Sha Na Na's was owned by a Chinese-Canadian named Wayne and managed by his Chinese-Canadian girlfriend, Joanne (for most of the time I knew them, Wayne was actually married to another Chinese-Canadian woman, whom I never met, but they didn't live together and Joanne was not a secret). Wayne was a very successful entrepreneur, owning many types of businesses in Edmonton, and Joanne worked incredibly hard; being present at Sha Na Na's seven days a week, working both behind the scenes and chipping in wherever she was needed out front, and always giving the impression that she was earning her keep with Wayne; that he was capable of dropping her for someone even younger and prettier if she ever failed or complained (Joanne was, after all, the young and pretty woman who had stolen Wayne from his first wife). Despite the business sense and the hard work, creating a hot spot also takes a lot of luck, and somehow, Wayne and Joanne were about to strike gold.
But it wasn't just luck: I was hired as part of their plan to attract a younger clientele, and despite being saddled with the lame business name, Wayne and Joanne decided to make it more of a dance club by hiring a local radio DJ to spin the latest tunes every night. The young bartender that I met that first day was supposed to be the assistant manager who would usher in all the changes, but I don't know what happened to him: he was gone within weeks, paving the way for one of the greatest nightclub partnerships in the history of cocktail slinging: me and Delight.
It was Delight, as the new full time bartender, who taught me how to be a waitress, recognising immediately that I had no idea what I was doing. It was she who told me not to write anything down (and she was right: no matter how busy it got, I could remember dozens of drink orders because I didn't rely on pen and paper), she who taught me by example how to erect a wall between friendly and flirting, and she who taught me how to have fun every single night. Somehow, Wayne and Joanne's plan worked nearly immediately -- play the music and they will come -- and within no time at all, Sha Na Na's became one of the hottest nightspots in downtown Edmonton, with young, happy staff and a lineup out the door Thursday to Saturday. I would be caught up in the party for the next two years, loving every minute of it, and raking in serious money.
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na
