Well in 1941 a happy father had a son And by 1944 the father walked right out the door And in '45 the mom and son were still alive But who could tell in '46 if the two were to survive

Well the years were passing quickly But not fast enough for him So he close his eyes through '55 And he opened them up again When he looked around he saw a clown And the clown seemed very gay And he set that night to join that circus clown and run away

{Scat solo}

Well he followed every railroad track An every highway sign And he had a girl in each new town And the towns he left behind And the open road Was the only road he knew But the color of his dreams Slowly turning into blue

The he met a girl the kind of girl He wanted all his life She was soft and kind and good to him So he took her for a wife And they got a house not far from town And in a little while The girl had seen the doctor And she came home with a smile

Now in 1961 a happy father had a son And by 1964 the father walked right out the door And in '65 the mom and son were still around But what will happen to the boy When the circus comes to town