Daniel Johnston — Phantom of My Own Opera

I'm the phantom of my own Opera Oh don't I know it And I think of you, sweetheart I'm lurking in the shadows Of my memory We were going to have a circus in the barn But the creature lurks among us The ghost of our past The ghost of our love And if I had my own way I always say that phrase I thought it was a phase But it wasn't And so here I am In my baggy-clown costume Perform any funny trick and throw a kiss To the audience And I'm wearing a mask But you don't have to ask Who I'm thinking about And there's a monkey in the background Hung by a rope from the ceiling And I'm the villain, acting fierce And stretching whiskers too fully The phantom wears a black coat Long trousers and a derby Stands erect And cracks the whip loudly I'm the phantom of my own opera I perform all the parts And I think of you, sweetheart I'm even the audience And I can't help thinking We were going to have a circus in the barn Can't pull the curtain I can't help remembering Turn a somersault after singing a verse And the song is never ending And I never quit rehearsing A performance of a sad and twisted art And if I had my own way I don't know what I'd do I probably wish it was you