Intro: | G C | G
       C                   D                  G
The Machinist climbs his ferris wheel like a brave 
          C                     D                            G
And the fireeater's lyin' in a pool of sweat victim of the heatwave,
            C                     D                       G               C
Behind the tent the hired hand tightens his legs on the sword swallowers blade,
                          G
Circus town's on the shortwave


         C            D                       G
Well the runway lies ahead like a great false dawn,
    C                     D                 G
Fat lady, big mama, Missy Bimbo sits in her chair and yawns,
        C                     D                G
And the man-beast lies in his cage sniffin' popcorn 
       C                   D                 G             C
And the midget licks his fingers and suffers Missy Bimbo's scorn
                   G
Circus town's been born.


           
            C                                                                      G
Whoa and a press roll drummer go, ballerina to-and-fro cartwheelin' up on that tightrope,
          C
With a cannon blast, lightin' flash, movin' fast through the tent, Mars bent,
            G
He's gonna miss his fall, 
                         D
Oh God save the human cannonball.



           C                                      G
And the flying Zambini's watch Marguarita do her neck twist,
           C                                           Am  D
And the ringmaster gets the crowd to count along: 95, 96, 97.



           C                                 D                           Em
A ragged suitcase in his hand, he steals silently away from the circus grounds,
           C                        D
And the highway's haunted by the carnival sounds
                   Em                 D           C
They dance like a great greasepaint ghost on the wind,
          Bm                    Em            C
A man in baggy pants, a lonely face, a crazy grin, 
          G             F         C
Runnin' home to some small Ohio town
Em            G                  D
Jesus, send some sweet women to save all your clowns



    C                        B
And circus boy dances like a monkey on barbed wire, 
        C                      D                        G
And the barker romances with a junkie, she's got a flat tire,
            C                    D             G                        C
And now the elephants dance real funky and the band plays like a jungle fire,
                     G
Circus town's on the live wire.



          C
And the strong man Sampson lifts the midget, little Tiny Tim, up on his shoulders, way up
                                      G              C               G               C           G
And carries carries him on down the midway past the kids, past the sailors, to his dimly lit trailer
          C                           G                  Dsus       D
And the ferris wheel turns and turns like it ain't ever gonna stop,
          Dsus                               D                    Dsus
And the circus boss leans over and whispers in the little boy's ear, 
     C                      G
Hey son you want to try the big top?
      C                     G
All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop.


  G   C   D   Am  Em  Bm  F   Dsus
E|--3---0---2---0---0---2---1---3----|
B|--0---1---3---1---0---3---1---3----|
G|--0---0---2---2---0---4---2---2----|
D|--0---2---0---2---2---4---3---0----|
A|--2---3-------0---2---2---3--------|
E|--3---------------0-------1--------|