Some thirty-odd years ago when I was three
My sister a couple years older than me
Got to go down to the old Chez Paree
On the north side of downtown Chicago.

My dad worked the door with a wide open hand
Tuxedo'd and tailored, a most handsome man.
Mother auditioned to sing with the band
The most beautiful girl in the room.

And all the performers who came there to play
Sinatra and Bennett and young Mel Torme
Hang from the rafters, my father would say
Of those magical nights at the Chez.

One evening that winter my sister and me
All dressed up and bow-tied and cute as could be
Found ourselves leaning on opposite knees
Of a man with a rather large nose.

A smelly cigar in one hand he held
A signature hat made of floppy gray felt
He scooped us both up in his arms as he knelt
And tickled me right through my suit.

And all the performers who came there to play
Jimmy Durante and young Danny Kaye
Hang from the rafters, my father would say
Of those magical nights at the Chez.

So there on mom's dresser this photograph sits
Of Durante and Debbie and David as kids
Before life got tricky, good God how it did
And we scattered like leaves in the wind.

Dad stayed in Chicago, mom moved to L.A.
Deborah's in Portland and I'm day to day.
Memories and miles seem so far away
From those innocent nights at the Chez.

So here's to the family, God bless everyone
Though the memories and moments were not always fun
So how we survived and have learned to move on
Forgetting what nobody knew.

And all the performers who came there to play
Sophie Tucker, Nat King Cole, Maurice Chavalier
Struggling young families finding their way
With those magical nights
Those innocent nights
Those magical nights at the Chez.

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