[chorus - A melody]
Don't send in more clowns.
Please, it's getting quite rough.
They've filled the whole circus tent,
And that's more than enough.

[verse - B melody]
We've got clowns in the audience,
Some clowns on the tightrope.
They're even in the lion cage,
Being safe there, I hope.

[break]

[chorus - A melody]
Don't send in more clowns.
We don't need any more.
There's more clowning in this tent,
Then there's been here before.

[verse - B melody]
Where did they all come from?
I'm scared for my life,
As they Unicycle round,
Juggling clubs and a knife.

[break]

[chorus - A melody]
Don't send in more clowns.
Keep them out of the circus.
We don't need any more.
They're all causing a ruckus.
Balloons float around,
Trying to get away,
From the numerous clowns,
Who are in here today.

[bridge]
No more.
Get them out.
We don't need them.
There's no doubt.
No noses, no flowers,
No wigs and no shoes.
Get them out of the circus,
And save us from blues.

[break]

[outro]
As the audience cheers, all the clowns give a twirl,
While they juggle each other up high in the air.
Some will laugh, others cry, as they hope they don't die,
And they all come together for their big final dare.

[chorus - A melody]
It's time to escape,
The tents starting to break.
Get out if you can.
For all of our sake.
Don't send in more clowns.
Please, it all got quite rough.
The circus is over.
We've all had enough.

JNKCE20250423

The Great Escape

Int. Dave's Games and ScrunchCakes

[Dave and Greenie are trying to organise a box of recent eBay Retro Games onto the shelves in the store.]

Green: (grinning) "The Quest for the Trivial Objection". Gosh, I remember this one fondly.
Dave: Never heard of it.
Green: Really? It's the one where you have to carry the bucket of frogs up the hill, to help thwart the evil dragon.
Dave: Nope.
Green: How about "Giant Spiders from Outer Space"?
Dave: Is that another Space Invaders clone?
Green: Yeah. It wasn't all that great, if I'm honest.
Dave: Eight legs out of two spiders?
[Greenie sighs]

Dave: I was more into "The Adventure of the Puzzling Monk"
Green: That sounds like a grand adventure.
Dave: Sure was. I miss those games.
Green: Yeah, me too. Everything's "shoot the X" or "collect the Y" or "sit and watch a twelve hour cutscene". Where's the joy of reading screens full of text, eh?
Dave: People just want movies in their games. It's not the same.

[Greenie shuffles through some magazines as he's putting them on the shelves]

Green: (excitedly) "GameXGaming Magazine"?
Dave: (shrugs) I think it might be American or something. The X gives it away.
Green: They're probably all about Mortal Kombat. That was all the rage in this era.
Dave: (quickly flicks through a magazine) Rimbly's Quest. Crikey, I haven't heard of that since. (checks the cover) 1993? Wow, was it that long ago?
Green: Realistically, these magazines are probably the most modern things in the shop, at this point. Most of these games are about a decade older than that.

[Dave goes back to stacking the game shelves]

Dave: "Cyber Rats: The Biter Vengeance"
Green: What's that one?
Dave: Something about protecting the city from giant rats. It's another platform shooter.
Green: Maybe that should go over to the sci-fi section, rather than fantasy?
Dave: But giant cyber rats are a fantasy. They're not science. Nobody in science makes giant cyber rats.
Green: But it doesn't really fit next to "The Labyrinth of the Mad Developer", does it?
Dave: Maybe the Mad Developer developed the Cyber Rats.
Green: I'm not sure he did. It's just a puzzle game where you need to find your way through a twisted laboratory filled with traps and experiments gone wrong. It's nothing to do with giant rats.
Dave: But you put "Death Love" next to "Happy Chicken Friends", and those aren't even slightly related.
Green: They're both romance based games. Love. Friendship. They're the same thing.
Dave: [beat] .. I think we need a better plan, here.