Tom Waits — In the Colosseum

The women all control their men with razors and with wrists And the princess squeezes grape juice from a torrid, bloody kiss What will you be wearing there? The lion or the raven head? The flesh will all be tearing, but the tale will be my own In the colosseum In the colosseum In the colosseum tonight In the colosseum In the colosseum In the colosseum tonight This one's for the balcony and this one's for the floor As the senators decapitate the presidential whore The bald-headed senators are splashing in the blood The dogs are having someone who is screaming in the mud In the colosseum In the colosseum In the colosseum tonight In the colosseum In the colosseum In the colosseum tonight Now it's raining and it's pouring on the pillaging and goring The constable is swinging from the chains For the dead, there is no story, no memory, no blame Their families shout blue murder, but tomorrow it's the same In the colosseum In the colosseum In the colosseum tonight In the colosseum Call 'em as we see 'em In the colosseum tonight A slowly-acting poison will be given to the favorite one The dark horse will bring glory to the jailer and his men It's always much more sporting when there's families in the pit And the madness of the crowd is an epileptic fit In the colosseum In the colosseum In the colosseum tonight In the colosseum We call 'em as we see 'em In the colosseum tonight No justice here, no liberty, no reason, no blame There's no cause to taint the sweetest taste of blood And greetings from the nation as we shake the hands of time They're taking their ovation, the vultures stay behind In the colosseum In the colosseum In the colosseum tonight In the colosseum In the colosseum In the colosseum tonight In the colosseum tonight In the colosseum tonight