The
The wagons were painted
in crimson and gold
As they rattled along the rail
As the travelling circus
rolled into St. Louis
And set up their tents in the rain
Oh, the children would laugh
at the painted giraffe
and the tattooed lady from Spain
And Raimondo the Clown
with his grease -painted frown
and his heart full of sawdust
and paint
The star of the circus
was Ma dame Miranda,
the young ballerina from France.
Night after night, in a circle of light,
on a silver white stand she'd dance.
Round an d round in a ring,
such a beautiful thing,
to the sound of the tiny brass band.
And Rai mondo would stare
at her long golden hair,
and the lily she held in her hand.
On Saturday night
she was dressed all in white
and the music was happy and loud
I will never forget on
her last pirouette
how she turned and waved to the crowd
Oh the clown saw it all,
she did stumble and fall
and his heart fell as heavy as lead
As he ran to her side,
we could see, as he cried,
that the young ballerin a was
dead.
So roll up your bags,
and bring down the flags
And pick up your travelin' load
For the wagons are packed
and the mirror is cracked
And it's time to be on the road
For the show must go on,
they'll expect us by dawn
On the outskirts of old Louisville
And the two will remain,
the clown and his pair
An d the lady asleep
on the hill