And They're Off

Ponies in the sun
The race is soon beginning
My father bet the family fortune
On a sleek, brown horse
My father had a hunch
We gave up lunch
So Daddy could make a wager
Ma would scoff
She would scoff
Hear her scoff
And they're off!

(La la la la la la la la la la)
Yeah, they're off
(La la la la la la la la la la)
And they move in a herd
Like a four-letter word
And they're off (la la la la)
Tickets flung
To the ground
And the band starts to play
As the horses go 'round
And they're off!

Mommy sat and cried
But Dad was... unaffected
He said:
Have you ever had a better two minutes
In the last three years?
She said:
But, Joe, the dumb horse lost
He said:
Sometimes joy has a terrible cost
I know that

We would laugh
We would sneer
We would scoff
And they're off!

(La la la la la la la la la la)
Yeah, they're off
(La la la la la la la la la la)
Mommy's biting his neck
As they roll on the deck
And they're off (la la la la)
There is blood
On the ground
And the band starts to play
As the horses go 'round
And they're off!

Isn't life funny?
People lose money
And have fun
Betting, of course, is hell on the horses
And on families where the betting is done
It's a joke to believe someone's won

All we did was fight
Plus, they discussed the weather
My father bet the family fourtune
'Til it dissapeared
We also laughed a lot
That was a thing I often forgot to mention
But it's true
Yes, it's true
It is true
And he's off!

(La la la la la la la la la la)
Daddy's off!
(La la la la la la la la la la)
We get letters from Maine
Where he tries to explain
Why he's off (la la la la)
What was lost
Was not found
And the band starts to play
As the horses go round
And they're off

Then they're off!
(I hear the band at the starting gates)
They are off!
(We're celebrating as they're movin', movin' down the tracks)
And they move in a herd, like a four-letter word
And they're off (comin' down the stretch)
There is blood (there is blood)
On the ground (on the ground)
And the band starts to play
As the horses go 'round
And 'round (and 'round)
And 'round (and 'round)
And around (and around)
And around (and around, and 'round)
And 'round! (And 'round, and 'round, and 'round, and 'round, and around)
And they're off!