The Part We Have To Play

The Part We Have to Play - Beau

We joined the theatre company

Before we learned to speak

And swept the stage

For a so-called wage

And seven days a week

The talented were hungry

As they struggled to improve

The talentless were quietly

Rehearsing every move

And we all knew

The part we had to play

We all knew the part we had to play

The press reported sadly

Across a tear-stained page

Their ringing lies that eulogise

The passing of the sage

And the gathering

Of the great and good

The humble and the wise

Will celebrate and seal

An actor-managers demise

And we all know the part

We have to play

We all know the part

We have to play

Beneath the wistful twilight

In the cold and swirling cloud

Where images are conjured

And with magic are endowed

The Grecians and the Avant-Gardes

So violently crossed swords

'Til one arose as principal

And Chairman of the Boards;

Then we all knew

The part we had to play

We all knew the part we had to play

And now the wind is blowing

In the tragedy of death

The cardboard castle still

Maintains the story of Macbeth

But all this plus integrity

Is swiftly broken down

When Duncan is a P T

Barnum three-ring circus clown

Who knows not the part

He has to play

Who knows not the part

He has to play

The Great Eccentric learns the lines

He knows he has to rail;

But ultimately starring

In a very different tale

He thanks you for your confidence

And for playing by the rules

You cannot understand

The funny feeling we were fools

And we all know

The part we have to play

We all know the part

We have to play