[Instrumental Intro]
[Verse 1]
He's a man of the past and one of the present
A man who hides behind a mask behind a mask;
A clown, a fool, believing it cool to be down
Or that the game is all about who laughs the last
[Verse 2]
So he tells all his problems to his friends and relations
Exposes his neuroses to their view
They accept as fact every m-m-m-masochistic m-m-mumble of his act –
But how could they know what was false and what was true?
[Break]
[Chorus 1]
Sometimes when he wakes
He feels he's walked into a dream
But all it takes
To remind him things are what they seem
Is the belief that the man behind the mask can really dance
[Chorus 2]
Pirouetting smile
He feels himself cavorting
Pierrot for a while
Before aborting
To find relief in the shelter of the dark, most telling mask
[Instrumental]
[Break]
[Verse 3]
After all the pantomimes are ended
He peels all the make-up off his face
To reveal, beneath, the tears running all down his cheeks:
And now alone, he opens to the world… But it's much too late
He's been left, in the end, without a face
Other Van der Graaf Generator songs:
all Van der Graaf Generator songs all songs from 1976