  When you visit at the circus And behold the steeds bedight, And the hoops and rings and races And the clowns that make delight,— You will miss the happy touches That complete your broadest grin If you see the main performance And don't take the side-show in. There'll be high and lofty tumbles, There'll be acrobatic feats, There'll be leaps and bounds and twistings, That will lift you from your seats; But with all the glare and glitter, You'll but know the fun begin, If you see the main performance And don't take the side-show in. There'll be elephants and lions. There'll be bears and tigers, too; There'll be clowns in robes and spangles All to please the boy in you; But the raptures of your gladness Nothing can completely win, If you see the main performance And don't take the side-show in. Life is something of a circus: It has half a hundred rings Where its jumbled aggregation Earth's attractions to you brings; But they leave the heart still heavy As it stirs with stress and din, If you see the main performance And don't take the side-show in! |
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