They say that there's a broken light for every heart on
Broadway.
They say that life's a game, then they take the board
Away.
They give you masks and costumes and an outline of the
Story
Then leave you all to improvise their vicious
Cabaret...
In no-longer-pretty cities there are fingers in
Kitties.
There are warrants, forms, and chitties and a jackboot
On the stair.
Sex and death and human grime, in monochrome for one
Thin dime,
But at least the trains all run on time but they don't
Go anywhere.
Facing their Responsibilities either on their backs or
On their knees
There are ladies who just simply freeze and dare not
Turn away
And the widows that refuse to cry will be dressed in
Garter and bow-tie
And be taught to kick their legs up high in this
Vicious cabaret.
At last! The 1998 Show!
The ballet on the burning stage.
The documentary see
Upon the fractured screen
The dreadful poem scrwled upon the crumpled page...
There's a policeman with an honest soul that has seen
Whose head is on the pole
And he grunts and fills his briar bowl with a feeling
Of unease.
But he briskly frisks the torn remains for a
Fingerprint or crimson stains
And endevours to ignore the chins that he walks in to
His knees.
While his master in the dark nearby inspects the hands,
With a brutal eye,
That have never brushed a lover's thigh but have
Squeezed a nation's throat.
But he hungers in his secret dreams for the harsh
Embrace of cruel machines
But his lover is not what she seems and she will not
Leave a note.
At last! The 1998 Show!
The Situation Tragedy
Grand Opera slick with soap
Cliffhangers with no hope
The water-colour in the flooded gallery...
There's a girl who'll push but not shove and is
Desperate for her father's love
She believes the hand beneath the glove maybe one she
Needs to hold.
Though she doubts her hosts moralities she decides she
Is more at ease
In the Land Of Doing What You Please than outside in
The cold.
But the backdrop's peel and the sets give way and the
Cast gets eaten by the play
There's a murderer at the Matinee, there are dead men
In the aisles
And the patrons and actors too are uncertain if the
Show is through
And with side-long looks await their cue but the frozen
Mask just smiles.
At last! The 1998 Show!
The torch-song no one ever sings
The curfew chorus line
The comedy divine
The bulging eyes of puppets strangled by their strings
There's thrills and chills and girls galore, sing-songs
And surprises
There's something hear for everyone, (reserve your seat
Today)
There's mischief and malarkies but no queers or yids or
Darkies
Within this bastard's carnival, this vicious cabaret.
