When the show had finally come
To this sleepy little town
So full of hopes and dreams
For this dirty princess and her clown
It's just a nickel game
That always seems to end the same
So try your luck on someone new
The only way you know how to do

But who stood in line
And bought a ticked for a ride
You didn't have to lie
I would have traded my whole life before I knew

It was in the way you walk
Was in the way you talked to me
You made it oh so clear
Your love was smoke and mirrors

The next day they moved away
Like the leaves they thought would stay
Making every child think
That they might be back one day
The carousel was empty
When the horses had escaped
The innocence has gone
This heart will never be the same

But who stood in line
And was so patient for a ride
You didn't have to lie
I would have gambled my whole life before I knew

It was in the way you walk
Was in the way you talked to me
You made it oh so clear
Your love was smoke and mirrors
It was on the way you walked
So far away from me
As the courtain closes on this smoke and mirrors

I'm laughing stock at the freak parade
The only empty cup at this bleak charade
And these cardboard fantasies
They can't take the wind
They cannot take the rain

It was in the way you walk
Was in the way you talked to me
You made it oh so clear
Your love was smoke and mirrors
It was on the way you walked
So far away from me
As the courtain closes on this smoke and mirrors