She watches anxiously Helpless to protect The girl in the goldfish bowl of light The jigging marionette And the woman in the wings She worries when she sings out of key The dancer as she twirls Oblivious and calm With tossed curls and swirls She will face any storm But the woman in the wings She fidgets with her rings and wrings her hands The puppet on the stage Elusive and calm Buttered and bruised She collapses in the arms Of the woman in the wings Who gently takes the strings, leads her away To a private dressing dressing room She takes the doll apart And packs her away in the wardrobe Till the next show starts Then the woman in the wings Collects up all her things and goes home