Through the
Years

There’s a stranger
Who rides with the wind
And his horse, it’s as black as the night
And some say they see him now and then
But he’s gone by the mornin’s first light

’Cause he only rides
When darkness falls
So if you hear his horse breathin’ by your door
Don’t open up
If he calls ya
’Cause that stranger means trouble for sure

Some say he’ll whisper your name
But all that he’ll tell you are lies
Some say he’ll take ya and lead you astray
If he ever stares into your eyes

Now there’s a story that’s often been told
About poor folks who end up in need
And to the stranger, they opened up their doors
And now they’re cryin’ out and beggin’
To be free

Some say he’ll whisper your name
But all that he’ll tell you are lies
Some say he’ll take ya and lead you astray
And all he’s gotta do is stare into your eyes

Oh, once when hard times
Brought me down to my knees
Temptation was starin’ me in the face
That night I heard him
Ride up on the wind
And his horse was breathin’
By my door
Then he whispered out my name
And swore
That he’d show me the way

Times were tough and life was hard
But I never opened up
I just turned on the light
And all that temptation
Just passed on by
As he rode away
On that horse
That was
As dark as the night

I can tell ya
That he wants to whisper out your name
But he’s only gonna tell you lies
He can only take ya and lead you astray
If you open up and let him
Stare into your eyes

He’ll always whisper your name
Whisper your name
Wants to take ya and lead you astray
Lead you astray
He wants to stare into your eyes
Just stare into your eyes

So if that stranger
Ever comes a-ridin’
And you hear his horse
Outside and heavy breathin’
Don’t you ever
Give in
And open up your door
’Cause that stranger
Means trouble
For sure

Hay un extraño
Que cabalga con el viento
Y su caballo es negro como la noche
Algunos dicen que lo ven de vez en cuando
Pero desaparece con la primera luz del día

Porque solo cabalga
Cuando cae la oscuridad
Si escuchas a su caballo respirar junto a tu puerta
No la abras
Si él te llama
Porque ese extraño solo trae problemas

Algunos dicen que susurra tu nombre
Pero todo lo que te dice son mentiras
Algunos dicen que puede llevarte por mal camino
Si alguna vez te mira fijamente a los ojos

Hay una historia que se ha contado muchas veces
Sobre gente pobre que acaba en necesidad
Al extraño le abrieron sus puertas
Y ahora están llorando y suplicando
Que los deje en libertad

Algunos dicen que susurra tu nombre
Pero todo lo que te dice son mentiras
Algunos dicen que puede llevarte por mal camino
Y solo necesita mirarte fijamente a los ojos

Una vez, cuando los tiempos difíciles
Me hicieron caer de rodillas
La tentación me miraba cara a cara
Aquella noche lo escuché
Llegar cabalgando con el viento
Y su caballo respiraba
Junto a mi puerta
Entonces susurró mi nombre
Y juró
Que me mostraría el camino

Los tiempos eran duros y la vida era difícil
Pero nunca abrí la puerta
Simplemente encendí la luz
Y toda aquella tentación
Pasó de largo
Mientras él se alejaba
Sobre aquel caballo
Que era
Tan oscuro como la noche

Puedo decirte
Que él quiere susurrar tu nombre
Pero solo te dirá mentiras
Solo puede llevarte por mal camino
Si abres la puerta y permites
Que te mire fijamente a los ojos

Siempre susurrará tu nombre
Susurrará tu nombre
Quiere llevarte por mal camino
Por mal camino
Quiere mirarte fijamente a los ojos
Fijamente a los ojos

Así que, si ese extraño
Alguna vez viene cabalgando
Y escuchas a su caballo
Afuera, respirando con fuerza
Nunca
Te rindas
Ni abras tu puerta
Porque ese extraño
Solo trae problemas
Sin duda

Oh, when the circus came to town
And them old elephants marched around
The monkeys and the clowns, they couldn’t be lazy
’Cause there was lots of time for laughs
With the long-necked giraffes
And things to eat like pink cotton candy

Now, we went skippin’ to and fro
Lookin’ for the old sideshow
I wanted to see the fat lady
Nine hundred pounds of rollin’ fun
I was a young son of a gun
She had tattoos like a man in the Navy

The faces on the clowns were painted upside down
The tears in their eyes
Could make a young boy cry

Clyde Beatty was in the cage
And doin’ a danger thing
He had the lions and the tigers on the stands
The cats let out a roar
And the crowd, they yelled for more
When he cracked the whip and fired the gun in his hand

Oh, we went runnin’ through the straw
The best show I saw
Was a guy walkin’ on the high wire
Dancing like a ballerina
High above the old arena
And there was a man outside
Eatin’ balls of fire

And there was Charlotte, the old charmer
She had them big snakes wrapped around her
One squeezin’ boa sure looked deadly
While this tall, thin man
Was sticking pins through his hands
He was freaky
And they called him Freddy

The faces on the clowns
Were painted upside down
The tears in their eyes
Could make a young boy cry

You could hear the ringmaster sing
From the center ring
About the circus
And the story of its birth
A guy was hangin’ by his knees
From the flyin’ trapeze
It really was
The greatest show on earth

At the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey show
When the old lion jumped toward the door
He didn’t scare none of us at all
Saw a man from Bombay
Made of rubber
Shakin’ his belly just like blubber
And a giant
Who stood nine feet tall

Oh, when the circus came to town
Yeah, we’d all run around
Eatin’ popcorn and peanuts and candy
And it was a great big event
To sit underneath that tent
’Cause the show
Well, it sure was a dandy

And it was a great big event
Sittin’ underneath
That big top tent
Yes, the show
Sure was a dandy

I can still hear
The ringmaster sing
From the center of the ring
About the circus
The story of its birth

I will never forget
Clowns actin’ silly
A hairy-faced bearded lady
The guy swallowin’ swords
Right down his throat
And a pen that held
A two-headed goat

And I’ll always remember
That warm day
In September
I got to see
The greatest show on earth

The greatest show on earth

Oh, when the circus came to town
And them old elephants marched around
The monkeys and the clowns, they couldn’t be lazy
’Cause there was lots of time for laughs
With the long-necked giraffes
And things to eat like pink cotton candy

Now, we went skippin’ to and fro
Lookin’ for the old sideshow
I wanted to see the fat lady
Nine hundred pounds of rollin’ fun
I was a young son of a gun
She had tattoos like a man in the Navy

The faces on the clowns were painted upside down
The tears in their eyes
Could make a young boy cry

Clyde Beatty was in the cage
And doin’ a danger thing
He had the lions and the tigers on the stands
The cats let out a roar
And the crowd, they yelled for more
When he cracked the whip and fired the gun in his hand

Oh, we went runnin’ through the straw
The best show I saw
Was a guy walkin’ on the high wire
Dancing like a ballerina
High above the old arena
And there was a man outside
Eatin’ balls of fire

And there was Charlotte, the old charmer
She had them big snakes wrapped around her
One squeezin’ boa sure looked deadly
While this tall, thin man
Was sticking pins through his hands
He was freaky
And they called him Freddy

The faces on the clowns
Were painted upside down
The tears in their eyes
Could make a young boy cry

You could hear the ringmaster sing
From the center ring
About the circus
And the story of its birth
A guy was hangin’ by his knees
From the flyin’ trapeze
It really was
The greatest show on earth

At the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey show
When the old lion jumped toward the door
He didn’t scare none of us at all
Saw a man from Bombay
Made of rubber
Shakin’ his belly just like blubber
And a giant
Who stood nine feet tall

Oh, when the circus came to town
Yeah, we’d all run around
Eatin’ popcorn and peanuts and candy
And it was a great big event
To sit underneath that tent
’Cause the show
Well, it sure was a dandy

And it was a great big event
Sittin’ underneath
That big top tent
Yes, the show
Sure was a dandy

I can still hear
The ringmaster sing
From the center of the ring
About the circus
The story of its birth

I will never forget
Clowns actin’ silly
A hairy-faced bearded lady
The guy swallowin’ swords
Right down his throat
And a pen that held
A two-headed goat

And I’ll always remember
That warm day
In September
I got to see
The greatest show on earth

The greatest show on earth

Verse 1
I jumped on a ship and it was headed out to China
I think it was the year of 1901
You see my boat broke down and I swam to Ha Y ya
And I got myself a shack ’neath the settin’ sun

And now you must understand there was no postal service
And I sent my love a letter on a coconut shell
And I said, hey honey, now the natives they’re restless
And when I’ll be back, well I just can’t tell

You see the natives are dancing underneath the moonlight singin’
And playin’ them tropical tunes
The chief, he’s eatin’ poi just sittin’ by the firelight
Beatin’ on his belly with an old wooden spoon

Verse 2
Well the chiefy he came on over to my cabin
The man must have weighed five hundred pounds
He claimed that the gods had sent me down from heaven
And I had to marry his daughter who lived downtown

Well the wedding was set for Sunday evening
Underneath the shade of a coconut palm
They wrapped me and they dressed me in Hawaiian linen
His daughter showed up with a grass skirt on

And the natives were dancin’ underneath the moonlight singin’
And playin’ them tropical tunes
The chief was eatin’ poi just sittin’ by the firelight
Beatin’ on his belly with an old wooden spoon

Verse 3
Now the wedding was fast and it was quickly over
I kissed my bride and she kissed me
Well I grabbed her hand and a letter on over
We sat underneath that old coconut tree

Where I picked up an old Hawaiian oohkalele
And I played a simple song by a Tiny Tim
The natives they were singing, “Aloh aloh a lawn knee”
Tip-toeing through the seaweed and back again

And the natives were dancin’ underneath the moonlight singin’
And playin’ them tropical tunes
The chief was eatin’ poi just sittin’ by the firelight
Beatin’ on his belly with an old wooden spoon

Verse 4
Now it’s been twenty years since I swam to the island
And it’s been twenty years since my weddin’ day
And I was blessed with a wife and fourteen children
And now we got a little shack in Y yah may ya Bay

Where my children they’re dancin’ underneath the moonlight singin’
And playin’ them tropical tunes
I like my poi just sittin’ by the firelight
And the beat on my belly with an old wooden spoon

Yep, an old wood spoon

Alooooo… Aloha
Aloooo alo A lawn knee
Aloooooo… Aloha
Aloooo alo A lawn knee

Now high up on a mountain
’Round a windin’ road
They robbed me with a six-gun
Stole my sack of gold

Now I’m coming home, honey
But I sure am broke
’Cause they even took my shoes, sweety
And that ain’t no joke

Finally got my pony runnin’
Took me just about a year
Had cover up his eyes
And whisper in his ear

Now he’s flyin’
Can’t slow him down
He’s really high-steppin’
Got his four feet off the ground

When I get back
We can waltz by the silvery moon
And I can kiss ya
’Neath the stars up above

Every time I’m gone
I write you a tune
Now you can’t tell me
That ain’t love

Ya know the sun is always shinin’
But it ain’t around the bend
And the grass is always greener
On our side of the fence

Just believe it, honey
You know it sure is true
I promise when I get home
I’ll spend more time with you

Chorus
Na doo loolu loolu
Na doo loolu yooloo
Na doo loolu loolu
Na doo loolu yooloo

I said I’ve promise when I get home
I’ll spend more time with you

So we can dance
To the jelly roll blues
And I’ll swing ya
To the left and to the right

There’s about a million things
That we’ve gotta do
Let’s just squeeze ’em in
One day at a time

Let’s go up to the mountains
And sleep out in the woods
And wake up in the mornin’
To the singin’ of the birds

Oh, honey
Hey, we’ll stay for a while
I love ta see ya at the break of dawn
With your face all covered with smiles

Chorus
Na doo loolu loolu
Na doo loolu yooloo
Na doo loolu loolu
Na doo loolu yooloo

Refrain
I’m comin’ home, honey
But I may be broke
I said they even took my shoes
And sweetheart, that ain’t no joke

Chorus
Na doo loolu loolu
Na doo loolu yooloo
Na doo loolu loolu
Na doo loolu yooloo

Yes, I’m comin’ home, honey
To spend more time with you
Spend more time with you