Circus

(Verse 1)

The greasepaint is cracking, it’s flaking off in the wind

I can taste the copper of a lip that’s been bitten thin

Five minutes till the curtain rips, the crowd is a roar

A thousand hungry eyes screaming for a little bit more

And my palms aren’t sweaty, they’re slick with a chemical shine

The smell of sawdust and old popcorn crossing the line

I’m pacing the wings, counting heartbeats, one, two, three

While the ringmaster’s grinning, looking right through me

He says, "Go out there and dance, kid, make 'em believe the lie"

But the wire is fraying and the safety net is dry

I’ve spent ten years learning how to fall without a sound

While the world above me thinks I’m barely touching the ground

I’m a freak, I’m a jester, I’m the ghost in the machine

The most expensive tragedy that you’ve ever seen.

 

(Chorus)

Step right up, watch the collapse of the soul

Lose your grip on the wire, lose all control

It’s a circus, a riot, a beautiful mess

A lifetime of longing in a sequined dress

One shot to fly, one chance to ignite

Before the big top falls and swallows the light

Welcome to the show, where the broken get paid

And we dance on the edge of the choices we made.

 

(Verse 2)

Now the spotlight hits and it’s blinding, a white-hot glare

I can feel the sudden vacuum, the gasp of the air

I’m stepping out on the cable, a thin silver thread

Between the applause of the living and the silence of the dead

And my balance is a gamble, my center is gone

I’ve been practicing this heartbreak since the break of the dawn

Every stumble is a feature, every tremor is a part

Of the desperate, dying rhythm of a performer's heart

They want the spectacle, they want to see the plummet

They want to see a man reach the peak just to summit

Then slide down the slope into the dirt and the grime

I’m fighting for my life, one heartbeat at a time

And I’m staring at the crowd, and they look like a blur

A smudge of human longing, a collective, frantic stir

And I realize the secret—the trick to the game—

The circus isn't the tent, it's the way we hide the shame.

 

(Chorus)

Step right up, watch the collapse of the soul

Lose your grip on the wire, lose all control

It’s a circus, a riot, a beautiful mess

A lifetime of longing in a sequined dress

One shot to fly, one chance to ignite

Before the big top falls and swallows the light

Welcome to the show, where the broken get paid

And we dance on the edge of the choices we made.

 

(Bridge)

No one tells you about the silence after the crowd leaves

The way the canvas shivers, the way the wind grieves

The makeup doesn't come off, it just sinks in the skin

And you wonder where the act ends and the person begins.

(Beat builds back up—slowly, like a ticking bomb)

The wire is snapping...

The rope is fraying...

The crowd is waiting...

GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT.

 

(Verse 3)

So let the drums crash, let the tigers break the cage

I’m writing my legacy on a torn-up center stage

I don’t need a safety net, I don’t need a hand to hold

I’d rather burn the whole tent down than do what I’m told

I’m a product of the panic, a student of the fear

The only one who’s honest in a city of veneer

And if I fall, let the impact be the sound of the truth

The scream of the veteran, the gamble of the youth

I’ve been chasing this moment, this singular spark

A flash of gold lighting up the oppressive, heavy dark

So watch me leap, watch me dive, watch the trajectory bend

This is where the performance starts and the pretending ends

I’m not a clown, I’m not a puppet, I’m the master of the fall

And for one brief second... I can finally see it all.

 

(Outro)

Step right up.

Take a bow.

The lights are out.

Now we leave.