Running With The Carnival Lyrics - Stan Ridgway

Oh, down by the river where the wildflower grow 

All the people comin' to a carnival show 

Got my little brother Bobby here, so come along 

Oh, we gotta get there early or the seats are all gone 

Hey, now, you can smell the sawdust up your nose for a mile 

There's a bearded lady and that man's a crocodile 

Slip inside the tent and see the giant rubber man 

Oh, I bet his momma's proud of him, he's doin' what he can 

Doin' what he can. 

Oh, I wonder if they'd let me join up with 'em if I could 

Get down to the city, get off this hill for good 

Yeah, I'm tired of totin' water, feedin' chickens in a shack 

I'm runnin' away to the carnival, an' never comin' back 

Nope! Never comin' back. 

Now, the strong man got no hair, he can lift a heavy stone 

Monkey woman's screechin', in her nose there's a bone 

The cracker barrel's open and the cider's filled with flies 

Oh, take a seat down in front, 'cause the curtain's 'bout to rise 

Yeah, wander past the fortune teller, readin' someone's hand 

What future does she see while we listen to the band? 

And I can hear the music now from that calliope 

Oh, when the carnival's in town there's always somethin' new to see 

Somethin' new to see... 

Oh, the people in the carnival, they all act just like kin 

And you can't be in the middle when you're sleepin' with a Siamese twin 

Oh, the dog-faced boy lifts his leg out in the pourin' rain 

When you're travellin' with the carnival, there really is no shame 

Nope, no shame. 

Down by the river where the wildflower grow 

All the folks are packin' up that carnival to go 

I guess I'll soon be leavin', then, but you can come with me 

And we all run to the carnival and see what we would be 

Repeat and fade: 

Run, run, runnin' with the carnival