tickets to the show

i heard the circus was in town
i picked up the evening issue from the nice guy in the square
cuz i figure i could work out as a clown
wear the red nose around town and breathe some funnier air
so i’m lookin through the classifieds
and it seems to me that all the postings want administrators
but i just want a wagon ride
and i don’t want to be a waiter waiting on an entertainer

cuz there’s a lot of roses left to throw
i want to put everybody down with one blow
i want a crowd to whisper soft and low
but i’d even sell tickets to the show

with a disappointed hand i turned the page
and there i seen a man who made my hair stand on end
it must have been the president:
man of the people lookin like he couldn’t buy a friend
surrounded by the cabinet
all lookin like conspirators in a Caravaggio
and all the motives were ulterior
and on every breast the red and white and blue in black and white did glow

so make sure the roses are ready to throw
for when he says that part about the “Swift, Vengeful Blow”
the press conference all whispered soft and low
they got complimentary tickets to the show
cuz nobody really wanted to go, oh

and anyway it’s just a TV show
like they say it’s just a TV show

hey i ended up on the downtown side
down where imaginary smoke can still get in your eyes
and i almost couldn’t see the tide
of all ages and positions came from far and came from wide
and they came to stand in line
for three hours in the cold they all deserve some tour time
for the moms to cry and the kids to whine
down there at the monumental missing scene of crime

everybody bought a rose to throw
down at the feet of some soldier that nobody knows
i heard the crowd all whisper soft and low:
“we’re lucky we got tickets to the show”

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