Lyrics

WHEN YOU CROSS (the JOKER song)

JACQUE FRESCO (from the documentary ‘The Choice Is Ours’):
“The only difference between a preacher and a thief is the environment they’re reared in.”
“There’s no serial killer that doesn’t have a background that made him that way.”

VERSE 1:
This city’s been falling apart, and it’s starting to make me cray/
no one’s collected any trash now in like eighteen days/
and people can’t find no work, …there’s another business going under/
I’m not a young man anymore, but I’m still living with my mother/
trying to make people laugh, yeah - that’s one of my dreams/
and for standing up for myself - I get jumped by these teens/
I’m on seven medications and still feel like giving up/
and only children care/
look at these million stairs/
I gotta trudge to get home while millions stare/
…wish I was living like Thomas Wayne, he’s a billionaire/
and I don’t feel like I exist, down on my luck and defenseless/
my co-worker Randall said ‘here, take this gun for protection’/
knowing damn well my mama don’t want me clutching this weapon/
all I wanna do is tell some jokes at the club for attention/
but then I took the gun to work and I got fired for that/
then three guys jumped me on the subway, and I finally snapped/

HOOK:
With one hand on the strap…
…how about another joke?
What do you get when you cross a…
…mentally ill loner/
who’s pot’s spilled over/
while a broken and divided city give him a chilled shoulder?/
With one hand on the strap…
…how about another joke?
What do you get when you cross a…
…mentally unwell/
payaso from hell/
who’s risen up matches to burn this city to ashes?/

VERSE 2:
And it just keeps getting better, now my mom is saying/
that I’m the first born bastard son of Thomas Wayne/
could it be I’m a bastard?/
go to find some answers/
and … nope - turns out that I’m adopted, and that’s worse/
but only cuz it means my mama’s bat shit crazy/
i was abused my whole life, and maybe that’s what made me…/
…just say fuck it Penny! I’m-a be a happy orphan/
trying to celebrate, then heard some knocking at the door, then…/
…I make a big mess, and thank Gary for being nice/
and the whole world’s gonna see me in a chair on TV tonight/
so I gotta look my best/
rockin’ a vest/
and slick hair/
my freak flag flying - boogie down these shit stairs/
one last time, but before I aim and squeeze/
I get hit by a car while trying to evade police/
now here’s my big moment … I meet my idol today/
I’m like a kid in a carnival with a smile on his face/

BRIDGE:
…and ‘Happy’ is dead, can you tell them ‘Joker’ is my name?/
they can even write it on the wall after I blow out some brains/
like a born day candle on what might be my last night/
so good night, and always remember - that’s life/

HOOK:
With one hand on the strap…
…how about another joke?
What do you get when you cross a…
…mentally ill loner/
who’s pot’s spilled over/
while a broken and divided city give him a chilled shoulder?/
With one hand on the strap…
…how about another joke?
What do you get when you cross a…
…mentally unwell/
payaso from hell/
who’s risen up matches to burn this city to ashes?/

VERSE 3:
Last thing I remember is I was laughing in handcuffs/
the city was burning and clowns were having some damn fun/
and I felt like for the first time that they finally noticed me/
that’s what I would pray for every night as I go to sleep/
…can’t tell if this is real or a dream/
laying on top of a car crash, and breathing in steam/
I see an army of clowns, and hear them tell me to rise up/
…how long I been asleep and laying here with my eyes shut?/
I’m in a lot of pain, but I finally rise to my feet/
could all the chaos, the applause, and all the smiles be for me?/
bright lights, and a stage, like I’ve so desired/
and maybe now you know the story of how this ‘Joker’ rises/
or maybe you don’t, …who knows?
cuz I’m unreliable/
I’m-a show how much I love y’all with this bloody smile and I…/
…thank you all for coming out - now that these cuffs taken off me/
I’m-a do this forever, this party is just getting started/

HOOK:
With one hand on the strap…
…how about another joke?
What do you get when you cross a…
…mentally ill loner/
who’s pot’s spilled over/
while a broken and divided city give him a chilled shoulder?/
With one hand on the strap…
…how about another joke?
What do you get when you cross a…
…mentally unwell/
payaso from hell/
who’s risen up matches to burn this city to ashes?/