Project: Unstable balance

04 — THE CIRCUS

The circus has rolled into town,
with the strongman and lady cannonball,

Parading through thousands who cheer one and all,
all of them longing for happiness now!
The mayor, the priest, the mother and child,
All of them longing for happiness now!
The notary, plumber, undertaker as well,
All of them longing for happiness now!
It made its way to the edge of town,
And calmly set up its big top with care,
Fed zebra and monkey and lion their fare,
All ready to chase every sad feeling down.
The mayor, the priest, the mother and child,
All of them longing for happiness now!
The notary, plumber, undertaker as well,
All of them longing for happiness now!
They say that it's good for the town,
'Cause these are the days of depression:
No salary, pension, no sign of progression,
Just precarious lives all around.
The mayor, the priest, the mother and child,
All of them longing for happiness now!
The notary, plumber, undertaker as well,
All of them longing for happiness now!
The anger kept growing all over the town,
The council was fearing rebellion,
The square was a torch-and-pitchfork battalion,
Even the police were beginning to frown!
And while the trapeze artist flies up high,
not a soul remembers what is down below.
Through the clouds of cotton candy, every nose
is pointing skyward, watching all the show,
all admiring the acrobatics
of those poor pathetic little heroes,
till they've all forgotten every worry,
all their misery, trouble and woes...
The mayor, the priest, the mother and child,
All of them longing for happiness now!
The notary, plumber, undertaker as well,
All of them longing for happiness now!
The mayor, the priest, the mother and child,
All of them longing for happiness now!
(The notary, plumber, undertaker as well,
All of them longing for happiness now!)

The Circus is a fairy tale for grown-ups, told as though it were a story for children. It speaks of that ancient human need to be distracted from our fears, and of how easily wonder can turn into an anaesthetic. Because some shows help us endure reality, while others eventually replace it.

And when every eye is turned upwards, watching performers suspended in mid-air, it may happen that no one notices what is happening on the ground anymore.