Lyrics

Say Goodbye to the Elephants
Dave Nachmanoff

The clown sits in the corner, wipes the greasepaint off his face
By Tuesday afternoon the lot will hardly hold a trace
Just some cotton candy mingled with the sawdust
Just an echo of the weekend’s rowdy din

Now the roustabouts have put the tents and poles back on the trucks
The Orangutan is looking like a bum down on his luck
The flatbed trucks are sagging with the canvas
And they’re headed down to Gibsontown again

CHORUS:

Say goodbye to the elephants, put away the trapeze
All the jugglers, clowns and acrobats, will scatter with the breeze
They’ll scatter with the breeze

I first met Bill and Joni and the Spring of ‘84
I was living at the Mission, like I’d often done before
They came looking for some muscle for the summer
I was stumbling, but they got me on my feet

Then the circus troupe because a second family to me
I was working with the lions by the Spring of ‘93
Those big cats never really were as scary
As the things I saw while living on the street

(Repeat chorus)

The winters in New England, can be cold enough to freeze
When the Turnpike’s slick with ice, and the wind cuts through the trees
The cats and I play nightclubs and casinos
But my heart is really waiting for the Spring

When I know I’ll hear the phone ring and hear Bill’s familiar voice
He’ll ask me if I’ll meet him, (like I’ve really got a choice)
Then we’ll pull into some town and raise the Big Top
And all summer we’ll make magic in the ring

(Repeat Chorus)