Lyrics
Verse 1
[M] I slipped in through the doorBy the barrel and the limeYou shook off rain and dustLike you’d carried both your lives[M] The room was all banjosAnd a grin on every faceBut your tail kept timeIn a wilder kind of place
Pre‑Chorus
[M] You tapped that wooden floorSaid, “Play me one more”[M] Your eyes were on the fiddlerBut your paws wanted more
Chorus
[M] More Irish music, pleaseMore Irish music, please[M] Let that reel run freeLet that reel run free[M] Tanuki, dance with meTanuki, dance with meBetter, louder, fasterHeel and toe and sing
Verse 2
[M] The shamisen snapped brightLike a match in honeyed brownThe fiddle laughed a circleAs the slide came rolling down[M] You leaned on the barstoolLike a fox with a secret name[M] And the whole place started swayingWhen you joined in the frame
Pre‑Chorus
[M] You said, “Give me that old tune”“The kind that pulls us through”[M] I poured another roundAnd the floorboards knew what to do
Chorus
[M] More Irish music, pleaseMore Irish music, please[M] Let that reel run freeLet that reel run free[M] Tanuki, dance with meTanuki, dance with meBetter, louder, fasterHeel and toe and sing
Bridge
The moon came up on the windows[M] The saloon turned into a hallWith shamisen and fiddle[M] And a swing that caught us allYou laughed like a pocket full of pennies[M] Then you bowed to the bandOne tail high in the rafters[M] One paw in my hand
Final Chorus
[M] More Irish music, pleaseMore Irish music, please[M] Let that reel run freeLet that reel run free[M] Tanuki, dance with meTanuki, dance with meBetter, louder, fasterHeel and toe and sing[M] More Irish music, pleaseMore Irish music, please[M] This saloon’s yours tonightThis saloon’s ours tonightMore Irish music, pleaseMore Irish music, please