Lovely girl, won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me?
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl, won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me?
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see

Fleet of black, fleet of black limousines
Oh tinted machines, here comes the cavalcade
With the armored cars, armored cars like Barettas
Flags on antennas designed to keep me safe, keep me safe

And oh my my, oh hey hey
Here he comes, the candidate
Blue-eyed boy, United States
Vote for him, the candidate

Diamonds cut, diamonds cut for the carats
Plaster of Paris, the floats fill up the street
And the beauty queens, beauty queens with the white gloves
All sick from the nightclubs, they wave with pageantry, pageantry

And oh my my, oh hey hey
Here it comes, the big parade
Marching bands and barricades
Make way, for the big parade
Oh

Canvas covered, canvas covered in resin
Violent men dance the blood ballet
And the bookies say, bookies say it's the third round
Oh when Louie will go down
If he don't there's hell to pay, hell to raise

And oh my my, oh hey hey
Here he comes, the welterweight
Take a dive, for goodness sake
Did you say goodbye to the welterweight?

Catholic priest, Catholic priest in a crisis
Torn between romance and Jesus, who will win the civil war?
And he says I'm in love, I'm in love with a woman
Yeah, this is my confession, I'm leaving, I can't be a priest anymore, anymore

And oh my my, oh hey hey
There he goes, the man of faith
Left the church for a fiancé
Let him love, a man of faith
Oh

TV cameras, TV cameras, and stagehands
American Bandstand, electric guitars
And he's singin' songs, singin' songs for the lonely
Well the girls with the room keys
They know all his words by heart, by heart, and they all sing

Lovely girl, won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me?
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl, won't you stay, won't you stay, stay with me?
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see

Lovely girl, won't you stay?
Oh, oh, oh

Oh my my, oh hey hey
Here she comes by saving grace
Burn the car and save the plates
She's arrived, my saving grace


Lyrics submitted by BenRunkle, edited by lh80127

Big Parade Lyrics as written by Wesley Schultz Jeremy Fraites

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Big Parade song meanings
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    General Comment

    I think that this song is about the 1960s-1980s. Fleet of black limousines, "designed to keep me safe", transporting the candidate, a blue-eyed boy, John F. Kennedy. In 1963, JFK, who was on a political trip to Texas, was assassinated in his presidential limousine.
    As for the beauty queen part, I think this symbolizes the change of innocence of the late 60s and early 70s. America had this big facade going... while everything was very wholesome in the 1950s, the hippy/rock and roll movement made the young people of the time rebellious. Not everything was as it seemed. Before I saw the lyrics, I thought that the words were "campus covered, campus covered in red", which would REALLY go along with my song meaning theory (Kent State shootings, when the Ohio National Guard shot 4 students for protesting in 1970). But I guess it's canvas covered in resin... this could just be talking more about the big art revolution in the 1970s, and the "men who dance the blood ballet" could be telling about the artists who painted scenes from the Vietnam War as a method of protest? It's a stretch. American Bandstand was a television show that ran from 1952-1989. It pretty much showcased the revolution of rock and roll.

    inthenameofohmon April 20, 2014   Link

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