Willi Carlisle - Tulsa’s Last Magician lyrics

Well, Tulsa's last magician got
His start at four
Pulled a quarter from his own ear
And spun it on the floor
Since there's no good tricks but old
Ones and lyin' ain't that hard
He saved up all his quarters and
He bought a deck of cards

And he learned ragtime piano
Though his teacher thought him slow
Got a black belt in karate
From a pawn shop video
And he'd practice all his worst mistakes
In a dirty bathroom mirror
And when his mother drank
He learned to disappear

And his classmates thought him funny and
Good at sleight of hand
He had this grand finale that
They refused to understand
It's hard to tell the whole truth
Of a family sawed in half
And that's why Tulsa's last magician
Left his home so fast

Well, down and out in Reno, broke in Santa Fe
Turnin' tricks on Los Sueñeros out
In the Californ-i ay
Well, they pushed him up against
A wall and said buddy, Get a grip
So he learned to set himself on
Fire on the Las Vegas strip

And he wandered down to Tampa
Blew everybody's minds
Cause the crowd was cheap and easy there
On beer and blow and wine
Said, "I wonder where my dollar went
How'd the flower bloom so fast?"
Said, "I can't reveal my secret
Though they rarely failed to ask"

And the crowd all thought him funny
And good at sleight of hand
He had this grand finale
They refused to understand
They demanded explanation when the card
Pulled was their own
And that's why Tulsa's last magician lost
His faith and headed home

Well, he said he'd learn computers
Like his second foster dad
And free range all the rabbit's that
Were livin' in his hat
His investments all went swimmingly
He had the boss on hidden strings
His promotions were a certainty
He could make the numbers sing

Now time and space is easy
For magic to control
Still, it was forty years of workin'
Fore he noticed he was old
Now his great escaping act is
Just untying both his shoes
And most days he's in the easy chair
Yellin' at the news

And the weatherman is funny and
Talkin' with his hands
But black clouds are comin' in
And no one understands
That somebody's true religion's always
Someone else's joke
And that's why Tulsa's last magician pretty
Much went up in smoke

So, friend
If you're the kind that thinks no one
Quite gets quite what you are
Like you're a cobbler or a mechanic
In this age of flying cars
If you think that you see right
Behind what's right before our eyes
You might be a small town's
Last magician in disguise

And we need you to be funny
Please be good at sleight of hand
Cause there's a grand finale we
Can't hope to understand
And there's a one in fifty-two chance
It's all magic and it's true
So won't you please help us believe in you?