TRAGEDY

Jill Spargur

Solo 1: “I always wanted a red balloon;

It only costs a dime,

But Ma said it was risky;

They broke so quickly,

And besides she didn’t have time

All: And even if she did, she didn’t

Think they were worth a dime.

Solo 1: We lived on a farm, and I only went

To one circus and a fair,

And all the balloons I ever saw

Were there.

All: There were yellow ones and blue ones

Solo 1: But the kind I liked best

Were red, and I don’t see why

She couldn’t have stopped and said

That maybe I could have one—

But she didn’t –I suppose that now

You can buy them anywhere,

All: And that they still sell red ones

At circuses and fairs;

Solo 1: I got a little money saved;

I got a lot of time;

I got no one to tell me how

And where to spend my dime;

All: Plenty of balloons—but somehow

There’s something died inside of me

And I don’t want one…Now.”