Sideshow prison cell
House of musty hope and stale adrenaline
Cadaverous cocoon
Reaper's carousel
Grinds a steely circle in the dirt and sings
An old, unruing tune
Trapped behind internecine bars
Branded by sepulchral scars
You pray like hell for freedom to come soon
Board up the circus, cut loose the audience
Crack the whip, unleash the animals
Emancipation stands no intolerance
So step right up -- break down the carnival
Ringmaster's museum
Cobwebs of antiquity confine your rank
Inside a hobnailed case
Freak tent mausoleum
Buries you beneath a suffocating tank
Of social class and race
Rise unshackled from hallowed ground
Burn the whole plantation down
Parade your dream and show the world your face
Board up the circus, cut loose the audience
Crack the whip, unleash the animals
Emancipation outlives intolerance
So step right up and kill . . .
Board up the circus, cut loose the audience
Crack the whip, unleash the animals
Step right up and kill the carnival
