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Dress Rehearsal Rag

Four oclock in the afternoon
And I didnt feel like very much.
I said to myself, where are you golden boy,
Where is your famous golden touch?
I thought you knew where
All of the elephants lie down,
I thought you were the crown prince
Of all the wheels in ivory town.
Just take a look at your body now,
Theres nothing much to save
And a bitter voice in the mirror cries,
Hey, prince, you need a shave.
Now if you can manage to get
Your trembling fingers to behave,
Why dont you try unwrapping
A stainless steel razor blade?
Thats right, its come to this,
Yes its come to this,
And wasnt it a long way down,
Wasnt it a strange way down?
Theres no hot water
And the cold is running thin.
Well, what do you expect from
The kind of places youve been living in?
Dont drink from that cup,
Its all caked and cracked along the rim.
Thats not the electric light, my friend,
That is your vision growing dim.
Cover up your face with soap, there,
Now youre santa claus.
And youve got a gift for anyone
Who will give you his applause.
I thought you were a racing man,
Ah, but you couldnt take the pace.
Thats a funeral in the mirror
And its stopping at your face.
Thats right, its come to this,
Yes its come to this,
And wasnt it a long way down,
Ah wasnt it a strange way down?
Once there was a path
And a girl with chestnut hair,
And you passed the summers
Picking all of the berries that grew there;
There were times she was a woman,
Oh, there were times she was just a child,
And you held her in the shadows
Where the raspberries grow wild.
And you climbed the twilight mountains
And you sang about the view,
And everywhere that you wandered
Love seemed to go along with you.
Thats a hard one to remember,
Yes it makes you clench your fist.
And then the veins stand out like highways,
All along your wrist.
And yes its come to this,
Its come to this,
And wasnt it a long way down,
Wasnt it a strange way down?
You can still find a job,
Go out and talk to a friend.
On the back of every magazine
There are those coupons you can send.
Why dont you join the rosicrucians,
They can give you back your hope,
You can find your love with diagrams
On a plain brown envelope.
But youve used up all your coupons
Except the one that seems
To be written on your wrist
Along with several thousand dreams.
Now santa claus comes forward,
Thats a razor in his mit;
And he puts on his dark glasses
And he shows you where to hit;
And then the cameras pan,
The stand in stunt man,
Dress rehearsal rag,
Its just the dress rehearsal rag,
You know this dress rehearsal rag,
Its just a dress rehearsal rag.

song performed by Leonard Cohen
Added by Lucian Velea
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