Amanda Palmer - The Clock at the Back of the Cage

We used to talk all the time
The blindfolded bodies you stacked in the barn
And they told you not to look behind you

The elephants walk in a line
The ringmaster takes off his hat to the queen
And she opens her mouth as they file inside

You used to tell me the hurt
The way they would strap you
In freezing white basements
And wire your heart til your hopefulness burst

The queen cannot fit through the arch
So she strips off your sisters and tells you to march
And you fall in line with your hands on your throat
The parade of paralysis starts

The ringmaster heads into town for the day
When they were just little he'd staked them in place
They’re free now to roam
And they’re free to run home
But they've lost the idea of escape

How they crowned you
Weighted and drowned you
How they made you numb
No bandage around you
I’ve found and unwound you
Now how to make you run

And the queen she is falling apart
She clutches the bannister shaking in shock
At the ugliness of her own heart
The ugliness of her own heart

I had a dream that we talked
We went to the White Cliffs and went for a walk
And I counted the times that our true loves had died
And you took my hand and looked over the side
And we saw your body down there
Getting taken away by the tide

Now they’re all gone but you’ve stayed
The door is unlatched, but you are not afraid
There’s a nice patch of straw and a comfortable cage
The door is unlatched, but you’re not afraid
There’s a nice patch of straw and a comfortable cage

How they crowned you
Weighted and drowned you
How they made you numb
No bandage around you
I’ve found and unbound you
Now how to make you run, run, run, run, run…