[Intro] No warning—go! The clock struck wrong, the grin struck wide. [Verse 1] Tin teeth chatter in the pumpkin jaw, Red boots stamp on the courthouse floor. Paper bats cut through the painted air, Count to none—then the teeth are there. You locked the gate, but you left the key, Now every crooked grin gets in for free. A jack-o’-lantern rolls down the stair; You hear that laugh? It’s already there. [Whisper] Easy now… the hinges know your name. [Verse 2] Black cat leaping through a torn-up sign, Candy-wrapper crown and a crooked spine. Kick the door till the brass bolts sing, Rattle the cage, let the whole room swing. One-two—freeze. One-two—break. Bite the moon from the paper lake. No clean hands, no neat parade, We came to collect what the deal never paid. [Chorus] Run, little scarecrow, run in place! Grin full of pins and a painted face! Stamp that floor till the floorboards complain, Round and round in the sugarcane train! [Break] Stop. [Whisper] Did you hear the little bell? Go! [Verse 3] Broomstick sparks by the ticket booth, The ringmaster’s smile has a missing tooth. A crooked horse with a paper-mâché head Takes one slow bow, then bolts ahead. Stomp—snap—stomp, let the rafters shake, A crooked little waltz for the wide-awake. You wanted quiet, you wanted control; Now the calliope swallowed the whole parade whole. [Bridge] [Whisper] Round the tent… and mind the seam. [Chorus] Run, little scarecrow, run in place! Grin full of pins and a painted face! Stamp that floor till the floorboards complain, Round and round in the sugarcane train! [Outro] The drums let go; the bright masks sway, A toy-box march at the edge of day. One last bow, one last crooked grin— The little black gate swings shut… then swings again.
