Well, they came to town
With their elephants and clowns
On a hit sticky August day
And every telephone pole
Had a poster that told
Of the thrills that were coming our way
There were trapeze fliers
And men that ate fire
And things we never dreamed existed
And the radio and TV
Told us we’d be
Fools if we dared to miss it.
Now all three rings
Held wondrous things
Marvels of every invention
But the big long shrouded
Shape in the corner
Increasingly drew our attention
There were bareback riders
Lions and tigers
And clowns in their itty bitty car
But every woman and man
And child in the stand
Had come to see the star
Then a hush fell on the crowd
As the men pulled the shroud
From the muzzle that was 30 feet long
And to screams and cheers
He finally appeared
And flamboyantly bowed to the throng
He wore red sequined tights
That sparkled in the lights
And boots that came to his knees
And a chromium
football helmet
And a cape that flapped in the breeze
And the dazzled crowd
Shouted out loud
You could hear them one and all
We want Hugo!
Hugo! Hugo!
The Human Cannonball
The aim was carefully calculated
The trajectory was precise
The charge was carefully measured
And poured into the loading device
The fuse was trimmed, the lights were dimmed
Hugo slid down the barrel and then
All was ready and Hugo’s daddy
Counted down from
Ten!
And the drums rolled
Nine
And our blood ran cold
Eight!
The ambulance stood by
Seven!
Several woman cried
Six!
The spotlight hit the net
Five!
No one would ever forget
Four!
Eternity passed
Three!
Every heart beat fast
Two!
And Hugo’s daddy said, “Are you ready Hugo?”
One!
And from the bowels of the gun, “I’m a-ready, Papa!”
Boom!
Well, fire and smoke belched
Out of the cannon
And the earth trembled for a while
And the big gun roared
And Hugo soared
Through the air like a projectile.
Two hundred and fifty
Feet he flew
Like an Air Force fighter jet
But at the apex
Of his trajectory
He knew he’s gonna miss the net
Oh! Arms flailing
He kept on sailing
A terrified screaming creature
And the crowd scattered
As Hugo splattered
All over the upper bleacher
In the aftermath
Of this tragic event
Disbelief filled every face
There was Hugo
And there was Hugo
There was Hugo all over the place!
Well, the dust has
Finally settled and
The smoke has finally cleared
Hugo’s name
And Hugo’s fame
Will always be revered
But no one
Ever too his place
No matter who they were
Because they never found
Another man
Of Hugo’s – caliber
The Circus’ main attraction
The greatest star of all
Was Hugo!
Hugo!
The Human Cannonball! |