[Verse 1]
He got shafted in Bradford for his out-of-date routines up there
And the trouble in the southern summer season
Was more than his fair share
He's been running for thirty slow years
And he would have settled down
Every new town he appears in
Just wanna put a red nose on the clown

[Verse 2]
You can buy the old showbills and frame 'em
They're nearly antiques
And you trip up on his big clown shoes as you're starting to speak
And he squirts the flower, hurts your hand
That trick will always catch you
The big clown tears, they're sketched so deep
That they might as well be tattoos

[Chorus]
The one man circus is coming to town
Get the banners up, take your trousers down
Paint on a smile, wipe off the frown
Heaven knows he can't hurt us
The loose, the lovely and the lonely
One night only, one night only
[Verse 3]
He said "I played Chaplin for Hitler in March '44
Been a black and white minstrel
Before that whole thing was outlawed
And I've dragged it on every single pier
In every one of your seaside towns
There aren't any tea dances any more
And the pavilions, they've all been pulled down"

[Verse 4]
"I came over straight after the war and they hijacked my name
Made it easier to get your tongue round but my wife never came
I've been learning these lines every day
Since the cold winter of 1945
I'd be glad to read a script every day that I wished I was alive"
(He's coming, he's coming)

[Chorus]
Yeah, the one man circus is coming to town
Get the dogs out, tear the posters down
Paint "Go home" on the walls till he is elsewhere bound
Heaven knows he could hurt us
The loose, the lovely and the lonely
One night only, one night only

[Post-Chorus]
He's tripping over backwards, taking off his clothes
No one stops to helps him, everyone knows
We laugh at the misfortune of others
He's tripping over backwards, taking off his clothes
No one stops to helps him, everyone knows
We laugh at the misfortune of others
[Verse 5]
Every time the glass empties, the lions they all get set free
On a town full of unsuspecting tourists
Who scream when they're happy
And the scarecrow's on probation
All he did was make faces in a mirror
The past finally put a hand on his shoulder
And drowned him in tears

[Verse 6]
Now he ushers and watches the movies where children don't age
And the dancing horse stole all the keys
He's taken charge of the stage
And the freaks are on the razzmatazz
They're all fuelled by four-star gin
And the downcast cast-out's on the street where he's always been
And we've already let him in once

[Chorus]
The one man circus is coming to town
Put the banners up, take your trousers down
Paint on a smile, wipe off that frown
Heaven knows he can't hurt us
The loose, the lovely and the lonely
One night only, one man circus
One night only
[Post-Chorus]
He's tripping over backwards, taking off his clothes
No one stops to helps him, everyone knows
We laugh at the misfortune of others (Alright)
We laugh at the misfortune of others
We only laugh at the misfortune of others