Regina, Saskatchewan
He was sitting in the lounge of the Empire Hotel
He was drinking for diversion
He was thinking for himself
A little money riding on the Maple Leafs
Along comes a lady in lacy sleeves
Joni Mitchell sang about the Empire Hotel in Regina on her 1974 single “Raised on Robbery”. The song lyrics are about a prostitute who tries to pick up a man sitting alone in the hotel.
She says, “Let me sit down, you know, drinkin’ alone’s a shame
It’s a shame, it’s a crying shame
Look at those jokers glued to that damn hockey game
Hey honey, you’ve got lots of cash
Bring us ’round a bottle and we’ll have some laughs
Gin’s what I’m drinking, I was raised on robbery”
AM Radio in the 1970s couldn’t play music with vulgar language or sexual references. Mitchell camouflaged the lyrics of Raised on Robbery using a “cooking” metaphor to describe the prostitute’s monologue…
I’m a pretty good cook, I’m sittin’ on my groceries
Come up to my kitchen, I’ll show you my best recipe
I try and I try, but I can’t save a cent
I’m up after midnight cooking, trying to make my rent
I’m rough but I’m pleasin’, I was raised on robbery
I was in Regina last week and had an opportunity to tour the Empire Hotel. My guide was customer/friend Greg S, who is in the process of gutting the derelict hotel in preparation for demolition.
The 1912 structure is well past its prime, if it ever had one. Situated on the corner of Albert Street and what was once known as South Railway Avenue, the hotel has been a utilitarian, working-class watering-hole since Regina’s early days. Rail passengers and hard-working Reginans have relaxed and refreshed here for more than a century.
I lived in Regina in the late 1970s and early 80s. My friends and I never spent much time inside the Empire, but we used their drive-through, off-sale facility regularly. It was legendary.
With a party in full swing, and the beer running low, “The World’s Coldest Off-Sale” distributor was our logical next stop.
We had a little money once
They were pushing through a four-lane highway
Government gave us three thousand dollars
You should have seen it fly away
First, he bought a ’57 Biscayne, he put it in a ditch
He drunk up all the rest, that son of a bitch
His blood’s bad whiskey, I was raised on robbery
The corner of Albert and South Railway won’t be the same without the Empire Hotel, but having walked through the crumbling ruin it has become, demolition is the logical next step.
You know you ain’t bad looking
I like the way you hold your drinks
Come home with me honey
I ain’t asking for no full length mink
Hey, where you going
Don’t go yet
Your glass ain’t empty and we just met
You’re mean when you’re loaded
I was raised on robbery
Greg was kind enough to salvage a few mementos from the Empire Hotel for me. The Empire lobby key cabinet above looks great behind the bar in my shop, and this key may or may not be the one used by Joni Mitchell’s prostitute in …
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