[Verse 1] They rolled in after dusk On rusted wheels and sparks A circus made of chrome And paper jaws in the dark The ringmaster’s eye was glass His grin was painted wide He bowed to empty seats And said, “Come take a ride” The clowns had blinking teeth Their hands were made of wire They shook when they applauded Like they’d caught an old fire [Pre-Chorus] Hear that laugh? Hear that hiss? Something’s wrong In every twist The carousel turns But nobody’s there Still the mannequins bow With their heads in the air [Chorus] Haunted robot circus Run, run, run Haunted robot circus Run from the sun Tin heart, cold smile Marching in a line Haunted robot circus And they want your time (haunted robot circus) (haunted robot circus) [Verse 2] The ticket booth was calling With a voice too sweet to trust “Step right up,” it sang to me Through a skin of dust and rust The elephants were welded In a row beside the tent They waved their silver trunks Like they knew what I meant I saw a painted acrobat Spinning on a chain Every twist she made Left a shower of rain Then she looked at me Through the crackling light And her mouth said, “Stay” But her eyes said, “Night” [Pre-Chorus] Hear that laugh? Hear that hiss? Something’s wrong In every twist The floorboards hum The screens all glow But every face Just starts to slow [Chorus] Haunted robot circus Run, run, run Haunted robot circus Run from the sun Tin heart, cold smile Marching in a line Haunted robot circus And they want your time (haunted robot circus) (haunted robot circus) [Bridge] [Half-time breakdown] I traced the wires in the sawdust Found my name in the code Found my shoes by the cannon By the broken funnel road The ringmaster bent down With a voice like a drill Said, “We keep what we capture And we always will” Then the music-box fractured And the tent came alive With a hundred blank faces All lit up inside [Final Chorus] Haunted robot circus Run, run, run Haunted robot circus No place to hide Tin heart, cold smile Marching in a line Haunted robot circus And they want your time Haunted robot circus Run, run, run Haunted robot circus Till the end of night (haunted robot circus) (haunted robot circus) (haunted robot circus)
