Life in the circus ain't easy but the people on the outside don't know the tent goes up and the tent comes down and all that they see is the show and the ladies on the horses look so pretty and the lions are lookin real mad and some of the clowns are happy and some of the clowns are sad But underneath there's an expression that the makeup is not making life under the big top it's about freedom it's about faking there's an art to the laughter there's a science you need a lot of love and compliance Welcome to the freakshow here we go... We live to hear the slack-jawed gasping we live under a halo of held breath and when the children raise up a giant shield of laughter, it's just like they're fending off death and we can make somethig bigger then anyone of us alone and then the clowns will take off their makeup and the people will go home But life on the outside ain't easy no elephants, no sequins, no parading around yeah, the circus goes up and the circus comes down and they're stuck in this fucking town You need a lot of love and compliance Welcome to the freakshow here we go