October 12th is hotter than Hell in Texas I guess Elephants just go bad this time of year And Clara James had no idea what hit her Well we coulda done something if we had our shotguns here But corsicana Texas is town without no shade And we never shoulda let that freak-show pa** through here You got to…send a telegram off to P.T. Barnum ‘Cause somebody’s gonna take the blame and it might be you Send a telegram off to P.T. Barnum ‘Cause the old man always knows what to do I swear to God I never seen nothin’ like it’ That fender folded up like a valentine And the trainers broke their necks but they couldn’t do nothin’ That Elephant’s gonna be himself just one time And the day will fall upon you and the autumn will start to burn You can wash your hands but this stain is worse than wine
You got to…send a telegram off to P.T. Barnum ‘Cause somebody’s gonna take the blame and it might be you Send a telegram off to P.T. Barnum ‘Cause the old man always knows what to do Well they marched Black Diamond throught the streets of Corsicana But they could not chain that ghost up to the trees He shook his head and he stumbled after the first shots It was forty-nine before the Elephant fell to his knees But there’s a funeral born in the Circus like a stone baked in the bread Even the bullets wilted in shame like a nest of bees You got to…send a telegram off to P.T. Barnum ‘Cause somebody’s gonna take the blame and it might be you Send a telegram off to P.T. Barnum ‘Cause the old man always knows what to do