Text: John Mellencamp. County Fair.

(John Mellencamp)

Well the County Fair left quite a mess
In the county yard
Kids with eyes as big as dollars
Rode all the rides
Strip artists and con artists
Put on quite a show
And made some money
Then left town
Where they went I don't know

Hey all you suckers
I heard a fat woman say
Come on in for fifty cents
You can stay in here all day
So I took a chance
I went inside
Wasn't much there to see
So I asked her for my money back
And she just smiled at me

Saw Princess Tonyika taken off all her clothes
Rode some rides and played some games
Saw the Wild Man from Barneo
There was a black man playing the blues
Talked to some friends I hadn't seen in a while
Through a football through a hoop

Well I saw them loading up their trucks
Taking down the rides
Folding up all the tents
There's a full moon in the sky
Some were laughing some were cussing
As they worked
Saw one of them making love
To a local girl

I was minding my own business
It was quarter after two
When a fella walked up and said
Hey man
I remember you
And then he shoved me
And pulled out his knife
Stuck me three times in the chest
And I died that night

For the like of me I can't remember
Who he was
And why he'd put a knife in me
In the dusty parking lot
Everybody said
What a shame it was
But he knew better than staying out
Past twelve o'clock

Some people put no value
On a human life
And there are places we all go
That just ain't safe at night
If somebody would do this to me
They just might do it to you
So be careful where you go
And what you say or do

Well the County Fair left quite a mess
In the county yard