I built this tent out of old tax returns And gasoline soaked in the bridge that burns My face is painted with the grease of a saint But the cracks in the mirror show the true complaint I’m tripping through the sawdust on a broken knee Providing a spectacle for the world to see Step right up, pay a dollar at the gate See the human wreckage, see the hand of fate I’m a goddamn fool in a velvet vest Turning my failures into a gilded quest Yeah, the circus is open and the lights are low Come watch the master ruin his own show I juggle mistakes like they’re butcher knives Cutting through the memories of other lives The popcorn is bitter, the ringmaster’s blind Just a collection of static inside my mind I thought about shame, but it didn't pay rent So I draped my disasters in a nylon tent Step right up, pay a dollar at the gate See the human wreckage, see the hand of fate I’m a goddamn fool in a velvet vest Turning my failures into a gilded quest Yeah, the circus is open and the lights are low Come watch the master ruin his own show Admission is cheap but the wreckage is vast I’m selling the pieces of a rotting past Don't look away, don't miss the descent Every damn bruise is money well spent Yeah, show’s over folks Leave your coins in the bucket I’m just the clown And you’re just the crowd Watching the fool burn his own circus down.