| Lyrics: | The machinist climbs his ferris wheel like a brave
And the fire eater's lyin' in a pool of
sweat, victim of the heatwave
Behind the tent the hired hand tightens his legs on the sword
swallower's blade
And circus town's on the shortwave
The runway lies ahead like a great
false dawn
Fat lady, big mama, Missy Bimbo sits in her chair and yawns
And the man-beast
lies in his cage sniffin' popcorn
As the midget licks his fingers and suffers Missy Bimbo's
scorn
Circus town's been born
Whoa, and a press roll drummer go, ballerina to and fro
Cartwheelin' up on that tightrope with a cannon blast lightin' flash
Movin' fast through
the tent Mars bent, he's gonna miss his fall
Oh God save the human cannonball.
And the
flying Zambinis watch Margarita do her neck twist,
And the ringmaster gets the crowd to count
along: "Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven"
A ragged suitcase in his hand, he steals
silently away from the circus grounds
And the highway's haunted by the carnival sounds
They dance like a great greasepaint ghost on the wind
A man in baggy pants, a lonely face,
a crazy grin
Runnin' home to some small Ohio town
Jesus send some good women to save all
your clowns
And circus boy dances like a monkey on barbed wire
And the barker
romances with a junkie, she's got a flat tire,
And now the elephants dance real funky and the
band plays like a jungle fire
Circus town's on the live wire
And the strong man Sampson
lifts the midget little Tiny Tim way up on his shoulders, way up
And carries him on down the
midway past the kids, past the sailors
To his dimly lit trailer
And the ferris wheel turns
and turns like it ain't ever gonna stop
And the circus b |
