Wild Billy's Circus Story

Ah-one, two, three, four Verse 1 The machinist climbs his ferris wheel like a brave And the fire eater's lying 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 Verse 2 Well the runway lies ahead like a great false dawn Whoa, fat lady, big mama, Missy Bimbo sits in her chair and yawns And the man-beast lies in his cage sniffing popcorn As the midget licks his fingers and suffers Missy Bimbo's scorn Circus town's been born Verse 3 Whoa, and a press roll drummer go, ballerina to and fro Cartwheeling up on that tightrope with a cannon blast lighting flash Moving 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 Verse 4 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 Running home to some small Ohio town Jesus send some good women to save all your clowns Verse 5 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 Verse 6 And the strong man Samson 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 boss leans over, whispers into the little boy's ear Hey son, you want to try the big top All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop