Isn’t it good to be in Melbourne when October comes along?
Look at the river, she’s so beautifully brown
Now the city changes gears
Sam Newman disappears and the Spiegeltent comes a-rollin’ into town
I don’t believe in any mystic power governing the tent
I think it depends upon the love you bring inside
I only know that when I take my seat
My skin will prickle and my heart will skip a beat:
‘Cos everybody wants to get a taste of the fantastic
Everybody wants to find a place to make believe
You don’t ever have to make a case for the fantastic
You need nothing up your sleeve to cast that spell of joie de vivre
Never been a better way to conjure up that magic
Than gettin’ it together in the Spiegeltent at night
Forget your blues and get enthusiastic – fantastic to see the light!
Let me tell ya ‘bout a couple I knew who had a house in Clayton close to Centre Rd
Livin’ a life that was suburban to the bone
Overnight they changed their fate
They seceded from the state, and now they wander around in a republic of their own
I don’t believe that any country’s worse or better in itself
I think it depends upon the love you feel inside
They go through Customs for a loaf of bread
But still they don’t regret a single thing they said:
‘Cos everybody wants to get a taste of the fantastic
Everybody wants to find a space to trip the light
Never any slippin’ the embrace of the fantastic
‘Cos it’ll grip your psyche tight, and send you spinnin’ through the night
So their definition of veracity’s elastic
I’m sure they wouldn’t know of any other way to be
Forget your truths and get enthusiastic – the fantastic will set you free!
Oh, the truth may be ringing but no-one should answer the call
It teases and tempts us to fence in our senses and curl ourselves into a ball
But no, no matter our standing we’ve got to keep moving ahead
The fight may be bruising, but snoozing is losing
Remember what Joe Camilleri said?
He said you gotta keep a-puttin’ a boot in, a-runnin’, a-hidin’,
‘Cos it’s gonna get you
You gotta keep a one-step, a two-step, a quick step, a thick step,
Or it’s gonna get you, you got to hit and run
You got to hit and run…
Fantastic!
‘Cos everybody wants to get a taste of the fantastic
Everybody wants to find a place to make believe
You don’t ever have to make a case for the fantastic
You need nothing up your sleeve to cast that spell of joie de vivre
Never been a better way to conjure up that magic
Than gettin’ it together in the Spiegeltent at night
Forget your blues and get enthusiastic – fantastic to see the light!