High on a wire Poised for an imminent fall Clowns always smile Greasepaint and lust in their pores Start to sway and I hold your hand Fall, the smile surrounds his head Hot ashes, clay Hot ashes fade To lean, to err, too far along for me To wait around, to smile is to accept In center ring Rolling in sawdust and hay Covered in paint Damn everything but the circus Damn the men and the women who stare At the freaks in the cages and snares Hot ashes, clay Hot ashes fade To win, to err, to fall too far for safety To lean, to wait a while is too easy To lean towards, to fall too far for me To wait a while around is too easy To lean too long, to fall too far for safety To seem to smile, to lie is to accept