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Soon as you like, ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. |
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In a moment there'll be a test of your endurance. |
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Stay in your chairs in the event of a dramatic pause |
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please be aware nothing gets covered by insurance. |
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One final thing: |
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please take the trouble to read through your notes, |
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it's important that you know where you've got to go to. |
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Wait a moment, maybe the usherette'll show you. |
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Such excitement, these are the hoops you've got to go through... |
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The noises off that turn you on stage whispered from the wings, |
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a stifled cough, a joke that bombs, a smoldering fuse wire string. |
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When Mr. Sands is in the house the alarm bells start to ring. |
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Everything's in code |
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in a world we barely know |
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and the truth is only slowly revealed... |
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With best intentions I have strayed far off the beaten track |
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and of attention I displayed a quite spectacular lack. |
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Now Mr. Sands is in the house and the panic button's smacked. |
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Well, Mr. Sands is in the house: commotion in the stalls |
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and, from the gods, unruly shouts that echo round the hall |
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Yes, someone's let the secret out...the safety curtain falls. |
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And as I look across the stage the thought that first occurs |
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is less that we have come of age and more that we're preserved |
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to pass our time in different shades of ignorant reserve. |
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Everything's in code |
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till the moment it explodes |
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we suspend belief, get ready to go |
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for the playout of the show - |
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here it is for all we know |
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Mr Sands is always ready to roll |