[Verse 1]
It was midnight, midnight at noon
Everyone talked in rhyme
Everyone saw the big clock ticking
Nobody knew, nobody knew the time
Elegant debutantes smiled
Everyone fought for dimes
Newspapers screamed for blood
It was the best of times

[Chorus]
Every place around the world it seemed the same
Can't hear the rhythm for the drums
Everybody wants to look the other way
When something wicked this way comes
Sometimes they tie a thief to the tree
Sometimes I stare
Sometimes it's me

[Verse 2]
Everyone told the truth
All that we heard were lies
A pope claimed that he'd been wrong in the past
This was a big surprise
Everyone fell in love
A cardinal's wife was jailed
The government saved a dying planet
When popular icons failed

[Chorus]
Every place around the world it seemed the same
Can't hear the rhythm for the drums
Everybody wants to look the other way
When something wicked this way comes

[Outro]
Sometimes they tie a thief to the tree
Sometimes I stare, sometimes it's me [x2]