What the song is about
The song follows a meal from start to finish. Someone books a table for two, orders a starter and a main course, and asks for things at the table. Then it moves to a busy self-service cafeteria at lunchtime and a cozy home-cooked dinner. It ends with dessert, paying the bill and leaving a tip.
Useful words and expressions
- book a table: reserve a place in a restaurant. I'd like to book a table for two.
- starter / main course / dessert: the parts of a meal (US English often says appetizer and entrée)
- soup of the day / daily special: the dish the restaurant offers today
- tap water: free water from the tap, not bottled water
- Are you ready to order?: what a waiter or waitress asks
- salt and pepper, fork, knife, spoon, napkin, plate, tray: things on the table
- self-service line, cafeteria: where you take a tray and get your own food
- home-cooked meal, fridge, oven, set the table: eating at home
- bitter, sour, spicy, salty, sweet, delicious, tasty: how food tastes
- Save room for dessert: don't eat too much, so you still have space for dessert
- Enjoy your meal!: a friendly thing to say before eating
- the bill / the check: the paper that shows what you pay. Bill is British English and check is American English.
- pay by card, cash, tip: paying
- takeaway box: a box for food you take home (US: to-go box or doggy bag)
Grammar
- Polite requests: I'd like to…, Could we get the bill, please?, Can I get a napkin? With Can I get you sound casual. Could I have…? is more polite.
- Ordering with will: I will have the soup. In speech this is usually shortened to I'll have…. If I may makes the order sound extra polite.
- Imperatives: Pass me the salt, Set the table, Save room for dessert, Leave a little tip.
- Questions about taste: How does it taste? Is it bitter or sour?
- Prepositions: for tonight, for two, by card, at home, in the middle of the day.
Careful: lines bent for the rhyme
- a daily special hot: the usual word order is a hot daily special. The adjective normally comes first.
- a spoon with ease: this is only there to rhyme with please. It does not add any real meaning.
- for goodness sake: this is written for goodness' sake. People use it to show annoyance or impatience, not to praise food.
- keep the cash in check: this is not a normal phrase. Keep something in check means "control it". To say you are not using cash, say I'll pay by card or I'll keep my cash.
- Takeaway box for the rest of the wine: takeaway boxes are for leftover food, not wine. You might ask the staff to cork the bottle so you can take it home. This line also clashes with Leaving nothing behind on my plate.
