Circus Song

There's a circus in town
Where the outskirts fade into darkness
You can hardly see the roofs of the tents against the sky
There's a clown in a tent with his face-paint running down
Someone's loading human cannons on the sawdust floor

The wild rats are out on the move
That spend their days away and hiding
Being frowned upon by the passers-by
They're shuffling around the carts
Rectifying detailed remarks
Pushing with their whole hearts to make it all worth a while

'Cause they wouldn't give in to the flow
To drift afloat and come ashore on contrived glory
But they do their work to reach the goal
One day their hoes will scrape the souls and sow their story

The crowds are streaming in
Until the rusty stands are creaking
Food is thrown around and beer spills on the ground
A fat man slams a shoulder and shouts
So the food escapes his mouth
A drunk man's getting applause for walking on a handrail

Another night to chase the beasts away
To jam the head and numb the pain
And keep on flowing
On your hazy ride your time will pass
There's no turning of life's hourglass
And the sand is running

White horses bolt in panic
When a bottle's thrown on the ground
Fire breathers burst into flames
And the midgets all run away with a frown
Lions jump down in rage at the tamer and a clown
Under the tight wire elephants stampede the safety net down

The old rat in the backroom, he's sitting on a crate
Chin on his chest, all the noise seems to fade
Except for some far away whispers, last minute debate
He takes a deep breath, and stays a moment in the shade

He reaches out an arm, and watches it tremble
When a juggler at the door signs it's his time to go
He's seen the time freeze, and the sand hang in mid-air
But you can't slow it down forever, but so few seem to care

And again it's time to save the show
Climb the ladder up and hold the pole
And keep on walking
There's no returning to the past
Greed has come to change the craft
And leaves are falling

For one more time, he smells the oily tarpaulin
Bending his head, he crouches through the door
A crystal spear of a light beam cuts through the smoky air
And as it lights up his white suit, there's silence everywhere

He climbs up to the sky with no apparent sign of fright
Someone said the pole trembled, but he didn't seem to fight
You could've heard a needle drop on the sawdust floor
When he started taking steps and stopped half way through the walk

Next thing you know, he lets go the balance pole
Some covered their eyes, some were frozen to the bone
He stayed standing for a second, then overbalanced to the right
He tripped on one knee first, and fell into the night

Now there's a circus in town
Flood on the highway
Someone's tears are falling down
Blue flashes on the windshield
On the outskirts where many dreams are torn
The rats crawl into their wagons
And listen to the storm