The lights are bright in the circus
The geeks and the freaks all light cigarettes
And laugh at your misery
While the weight of the curtain closing crushes your heart
The inertia of loneliness tears your flesh apart

CHORUS:: It’s a long slow slide
It’s a long slow slide
It’s a long slow slide…down

Once the neon is gone
There is still that golden splinter at your side
His manners are charming, but who are you fooling
You are nobody’s bride
While Bukowski’s widow haunts each empty seat on the Ferris wheel
Ghoulish lovers collide
In a collage of kisses that they steal

CHORUS:

And outside the window
The circus crackles and lurches with rings of smoke
You laugh half-heartedly at the punchline
Not realizing they’ve made you the joke
Inside my heart a war is raging
In regions still untamed
The worst fear I can imagine
Is for the mystery to be tamed
The mystery to be tamed

CHORUS:

It’s a long slow slide
It’s a long slow slide
It’s a long slow slide…down