Linthwaite Houdini

He'd been plannin' it all for six months
The publicity had all been sent off
I told him, "it's not too late to stop it."
He lay under a blanket to demonstrate the air pockets

Yeah, he tried to escape, but he couldn't escape
He practised with pillows down in the basement
The crowd stopped their cheers and started to pray
A mechanical shovel pulled him out of his grave
Yeah, it pulled him unconscious, out of his grave

The big day was finally here
Down on the green, a carnival atmosphere
He said, "I can see it so clearly
Sonorous red lights, The Linthwaite Houdini"

Yeah, he tried to escape, but he couldn't escape
He'd been playin' it out in his head like a tape
Parents grabbed their children, and turned them away
A mechanical shovel pulled him out of his grave
Yeah, it pulled him unconscious, out of his grave

La la, la la la la
La la, la la la la
La la, la la la la

Down in London, they sneer about the things we do here
And they put us in galleries
But all of our hurts to escape from the dirt
And charge at their cavalry

Yeah, he tried to escape, but he couldn't escape
Parents blocked the eyes of their children too late
Five hundred people could not turn away
A mechanical shovel pulled him out of his grave
Yeah, it pulled him unconscious, out of his grave

A reporter from The Examiner asked him
"Why do you do it?
There must be a reason."
He answered with rare wisdom
"Everybody's got something they want to escape from."