Golden Molars

[Verse 1]
She wore black from neck to ankle
But the shoes were fresh and clean
Tiny lace along the veil
Lipstick just a little too green
Priest said
"He was a good man"
She said
"He did what he could"
But her eyes were on the casket
Like it was stacked with wood
[Chorus]
"Take the gold teeth
Take the gold teeth"
She whispers by the flame
"Saints can keep his soul tonight
I'll just keep what pays my way"
Rosary in one cold hand
Calculator in the other sleeve
"Take the gold teeth
Take the gold teeth
Leave the bones to burn
Capisce?"
[Verse 2]
Forty years of wedding dinners
Every bill she wrote in ink
He kept smiling through the arguing
Shining every time he'd drink
Now she’s counting every filling
Like a banker counts the till
"Open up
One last time
He would want to foot the bill" (oh yeah)
[Chorus]
"Take the gold teeth
Take the gold teeth"
She whispers by the flame
"Saints can keep his soul tonight
I'll just keep what pays my way"
Candles melt like slow payroll
Ashes float like unpaid leave
"Take the gold teeth
Take the gold teeth
Love is love
But cash is king"
[Bridge]
She blows a kiss toward the furnace
"Arrivederci
Caro mio"
Then tucks the little velvet pouch
Deep beneath her mourning coat
Neighbors call it sacrilege
She just calls it severance pay
Saying
"He left me what he promised
Bit by bit
He saved the day" (hey!)
[Chorus]
"Take the gold teeth
Take the gold teeth"
She hums on the walk back home
Shopping list inside her hymnal
Funeral dress that smells of smoke
Picture frame on plastic table
Next to jars of saved receipts
"Take the gold teeth
Take the gold teeth
’Til the graveyard’s in the green"

Darkly comic cabaret over upright bass and brushed drums, male vocals with sly, storytelling phrasing. Accordion and muted trumpet add old-world Italian flavor; verses stay low and conspiratorial, chorus jumps with crooked, sing-along energy. Small-room reverb keeps it intimate, with bass clarinet fills in the bridge for extra mischief.