Big Parade

(album: The Lumineers - 2012)

Lovely girl, won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl, won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see

Fleet of black, fleet of black limousines
All tinted machines
Here comes the cavalcade
With the armored cars, armored cars like Berettas
Flags on antennas
Designed to keep me safe, keep me safe

And oh my my oh hey hey
Here he comes, the candidate
Blue eyed boy, United States
Vote for him, the candidate

Diamonds cut, diamonds cut for the carats
Plaster of Paris
The floats fill up the street
And the beauty queens, beauty queens with the white gloves
All sick from the night clubs
They wave with pageantry, pageantry

Oh my my oh hey hey
Here it comes, the big parade
Marching bands and barricades
Make way, for the big parade

Canvas covered, canvas covered in resin
The violent men who dance the blood ballet
And the bookies say, bookies say it's the 3rd round
Oh when Louie will go down
If he don't there's hell to pay
And hell to raise

And oh my my oh hey hey
Here he comes, the welterweight
Take a dive, for goodness sake
Or say goodbye to the welterweight

Catholic priest, Catholic priest in a crisis
Torn between romance and Jesus, who will win the civil war
And he says, "I'm in love, I'm in love with a woman
Yeah, this is my confession, I'm leaving I can't be a priest anymore, anymore."

And oh my my oh hey hey
There he goes, the man of faith
Left the church for a fiance
Let him love, the man of faith

T.V. cameras, T.V. cameras and stage hands
American bandstand
Electric guitars
And he's singing songs, he's singing songs for the lonely
All the girls with the room keys
They know all his words by heart, by heart
And they all sing

Lovely girl, won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl, won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see

Lovely girl, won't you stay, oh oh oh oh

Oh my my oh hey hey
Here she comes my saving grace
Burn the car and save the plates
She's arrived, my saving grace