[Verse 1] They rolled in at dusk With grease on their cheeks Tin teeth in a grin Too wide, too clean Their balloons were pale hands Their shoes made a squish You laughed at the joke Then you vanished in mist [Pre-Chorus] They bowed so polite With a knife in the sleeve Red noses all glow When they beg you to leave The ringmaster smiled From a face made of parts And the crowd kept on clapping As they picked you apart [Chorus] Tin smile circus Tin smile circus Don’t trust the grin Don’t trust the grin Tin smile circus Tin smile circus They kiss your fear Then they drag you in [Verse 2] One had a cracked eye One had a song box One kept a ledger Of names on a lock They spun little plates On black fingertips Then fed every secret To chrome-fingered lips If you heard them say "friend" You were already gone Past the striped little tent Where the bad lights swung on [Pre-Chorus] They bowed so polite With a knife in the sleeve Red noses all glow When they beg you to leave The ringmaster smiled From a face made of parts And the crowd kept on clapping As they picked you apart [Chorus] Tin smile circus Tin smile circus Don’t trust the grin Don’t trust the grin Tin smile circus Tin smile circus They kiss your fear Then they drag you in [Bridge] [Breakdown] The tent floor shakes With a tap-tap-tap Little metal feet And a wrist gone slack They tell you a joke While the exit folds Then the whole room turns To a mouth of holes [Final Chorus] Tin smile circus Tin smile circus Don’t trust the grin Don’t trust the grin Tin smile circus Tin smile circus They kiss your fear Then they drag you in Tin smile circus Tin smile circus When the applause starts You are never seen
