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On With The Show Lyrics
Good evening one and all we're all so glad to see you here
We'll play your favorite songs while you're all so happy atmosphere
We'll start with over river, then maybe stormy weather, too
I'm sure you know just what to do
On with the show good health to you
Please pour another glass it time to watch the cabaret
Your wife will never know that you're not really working late
Your hostess here is Wendy, you'll find her very friendly, too
And we don't care just what you do
On with the show good health to you
Petina, start the show at 2 o'clock
Oh if by chance you find that you can't make it anymore
We'll put you in a cab and get you safely to the door
But we've got all the answers, and we've got lovely dancers, too
There's nothing else you have to do
On with the show good health to you
You're all such lovely people dancing, eating round the floor
But if you have to fight, please take your trouble out the door
For now I say with sorrow, until this time tomorrow
We'll bid you all a find adieu
On with the show good health to you
We'll play your favorite songs while you're all so happy atmosphere
We'll start with over river, then maybe stormy weather, too
I'm sure you know just what to do
On with the show good health to you
Your wife will never know that you're not really working late
Your hostess here is Wendy, you'll find her very friendly, too
And we don't care just what you do
On with the show good health to you
We'll put you in a cab and get you safely to the door
But we've got all the answers, and we've got lovely dancers, too
There's nothing else you have to do
On with the show good health to you
But if you have to fight, please take your trouble out the door
For now I say with sorrow, until this time tomorrow
We'll bid you all a find adieu
On with the show good health to you
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I do like the song although I don't approve of the things described in the lyrics.
I saw a page, probably with an AI generated interpretation, that put escapism as the central theme of the song, which I think is actually a good summary.
How to judge it is another matter. I personally interpret it as criticism because of the sleazy and comical tone Jagger puts into the voice of the announcer guiding the visitor of the cabaret through the show, its customs, services, promises. After all, the song depicts the methods of the sex industry from the very beginning when some guy obviously invites a passer-by to join the event inducing a kick of dopamine with the line "they're naked and they dance". The implicit promises of fulfilling a perceived need are empty ones, though, of course, as this kind of business lives off of one of men's weaknesses: sexual pleasure without commitment. The announcer even condones the visitors to lie to and this cheat their wives. Not to mention of the exploitation of the young women involved who do it to pay their bills.
Given Jagger's, or the Rolling Stones', for that matter, reputation, I'm not entirely sure that that interpretation is what they had in mind, though.