Big Parade

Lovely girl won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see

Fleet of black, fleet of black limousines
All tinted machines
Here comes the cavalcade
With the armoured cars, armoured cars like birettas
Flags on antennas
Designed to keep me safe, keep me safe
And oh my, my oh hey, hey
Here he comes, the candidate
Blue-eyed boy, United States
Vote for him, the candidate

Diamonds cut
Diamonds cut for the carats
Plaster of Paris
The floats fill up the street
And the beauty queens, beauty queens with the white gloves
All sick from the nightclubs
They wave with pageantry, pageantry
Oh, my, my oh hey, hey

Here it comes, the big parade
Marching bands and barricades
Make way, for the big parade

Canvas covered, canvas covered in resin
The violent men who dance the blood ballet
And the bookies say, bookies say it's the 3rd round
Oh, when Louie will go down
If he don't there's hell to pay, and hell to raise
And oh my, my oh hey, hey
Here he comes, the welterweight
Take a dive, for goodness' sake
Or say goodbye to the welterweight

Catholic priest, catholic priest in a crisis
He's torn between romance and Jesus
Who will win the civil war
And he says I'm in love, I'm in love with a woman
Yea this is my confession, I'm leaving I can't a priest any more, any more
And oh my, my oh hey, hey
There he goes, the man of faith
Left the church for a fiancé
Let him love, the man of faith

TV cameras, TV cameras and stagehands
American bandstand, electric guitars
And he's singing songs, singing songs for the lonely
All the girls with the room keys
They know all his words by heart, by heart (and they all sing)

Lovely girl won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl won't you stay, oh, oh oh, oh

Oh, my, my oh hey, hey
Here she comes by saving grace
Burn the car and save the plates
She's arrived, my saving grace