Carnival Lyrics

von Natalie Merchant

Well, I've walked these streets
A virtual stage, it seemed to me
Makeup on their faces
Actors took their places next to me

Well, I've walked these streets
In a carnival, of sights to see
All the cheap thrill seekers vendors and the dealers
They crowded around me

Have I been blind have I been lost
Inside myself and my own mind
Hypnotized, mesmerized by what my eyes have seen?

Well, I've walked these streets
In a spectacle of wealth and poverty
In the diamond market the scarlet welcome carpet
That they just rolled out for me

And I've walked these streets
In the madhouse asylum they can be
Where a wild-eyed misfit prophet
On a traffic island stopped and he raved of saving me

Have I been blind, have I been lost
Inside myself and my own mind
Hypnotized, mesmerized
By what my eyes have seen?

Have I been wrong, have I been wise
To shut my eyes and play along
Hypnotized, paralyzed
By what my eyes have found
By what my eyes have seen
What they have seen?

Have I been blind, have I been lost
Have I been wrong, have I been wise
Have I been strong
Have I been
Hypnotized, mesmerized
By what my eyes have found
In that great street carnival,
In that carnival?