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about
This is the story of a fortune teller named Hyacinthe, who was raised in the circus by her father, the lion tamer. One day, Hyacinthe looks into her crystal ball and sees her father being eating by the lions. Despite her pleading, her father refuses to look in the ball to see his blood soaked fate. Sure enough, the gruesome scene transpires and her father is eaten alive.
Hyacinthe is tormented by nightmares and in every fortune she reads she sees nothing but darkness. On a stormy night outside of Denton, Texas, she is walking by the lion cage. The beasts whisper to her, to stick her head in their cage so they can end her suffering. As her life flashes before her eyes, she immediately regrets choosing to end her life, but as she recoils, her head gets stuck between the bars of the cage and she blacks out.
Fortunately, the Contortionist named Karloff sees this happening and uses his powers of contortionism to climb into the cage and help free her head from the bars.
She awakes with a new outlook. Karloff is constantly standing on his head or walking on his hands and the two of them discuss the importance of looking at everything from a different angle. In a circus life, an alternate view, and a friend to share it with, is the only thing that can keep you sane.
That's the story of Hyacinthe and The Contortionist
lyrics
This is the story of Hyacinthe and The Contortionist
Step back for a moment
Take an alternate view
Step back for a moment (Step Back)
Ain't always easy to do
Hyacinthe was born of the circus,
She was raised telling the fortunes of all.
Her daddy tamed lions,
Said he wasn’t scared of dying,
But he was scared to death of her crystal ball
She’d say
“Your caging up the king of jungle, Daddy
And that behavior it never ends well”
She saw there’d come a time
When the lions would dine on him
And she couldn’t bring him back with no spell.
And he would tease the crowd:
“Step back if they are hungry they’ll attack”
“Aint that life!” (laughter and applause!!!)
hahahahahahahahahaahahaah!
Step back for a moment
Take an alternate view
Step back for a moment (Step Back)
Ain't always easy to do
Step Back, Step Back
Step Back, Step Back
She started waking up sweaty in terror,
Dreaming blood on the walls every night
She’d seen whole damn scene,
Every roar every scream,
Those lions licked up every drop of his light.
Well she didn’t do well with her daddy gone,
The fortunes got darker each day.
She’d be looking at a palm,
See everything that could go wrong,
And the nightmares weren't going away.
That’s when she said,
“Step back if they’re hungry they’ll attack!”
“Aint that life”
Step back for a moment
Take need an alternate view (pause for laughter)
Step back for a moment
Ain't always easy to do
It was pissing rain outside of Denton (Texas)
Her pain seemed never ending
A broken life she had no friends in
Those lions they were whispering to her
“C'mon kid, come a lil’ closer……..)
She stuck her neck into that lions cage
She smelled their breath, all hot with rage
She recoiled screaming, “I’ve gone too far”
But her head got stuck between those bars.
And that’s it. That’s the last thing she remembers.
Fortunately the contortionist is walking by and uses his powers of contortion to free her head from the cage.
(She wakes up in her warm bed with a brand new feeling.)
Karloff the contortionist
Had a body type you couldn't miss
Skinny like a hose,
Always walking on his hands (boop boop boop)
But he saw eye to eye with Hyacinthe
Upside down, and outside in.
They talked about the sacrifice
A circus life demands
They kissed near the elephants cage
They touched knees in the petting zoo hay
He could pop out his elbows
But his head was on straight
He’d put his face between his legs and say
(Look around Upside down Side to side Be Here Now)
Step back
Step back
Step back
step back
Step back for a moment
Take an alternate view
Step back for a moment (Step Back)
Ain't always easy to do
Step Back, Step Back
Step Back, Step Back
This has been the story of Hyacinthe and The Contortionist
credits
released February 3, 2022
Produced by Gus Van Go
Mastered by Joao Carvalho
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