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  1. Final Stroke

From the recording Final Stroke

Lyrics

Final Stroke The joker stared at the smoking ruins He watched the flames grow higher He took a big long drink of his summer wine And whispered “Lord I love a good fire” He turned to the thief and said Come on we got to go down town You see I promised I would meet them there When the final stroke went down He tucked a golden fiddle underneath his chin He dragged lightning across the strings He said I hope I’m not out of place But I’m in the mood for swing You see the flames of a crumbling empire Is the biggest rush I’ve ever found So pardon me if I feel like dancing While that final stroke goes down A pharise with a golden cross Jumped up to block his way The joker said don’t you mess with me boy Can’t you tell that this is my day Man I bet you were stone surprised To hear my name on the trumped sound You never thought I’d be the second coming Of the final stroke going down The queen of diamonds was so deep in hock She had to give the boy the last of her jewels The joker said I knew it would come to this Girl you been running round with fools And all your high toned gamblers Took your diamonds and they lit out of town Leaving you to dance with me As the final stroke goes down The joker walked up to the President And said boy did you get fooled All this talk about exporting democracy Now won’t you tell me who got schooled Seems you had a choice between sink or swim And I believe you choose to drowned So pardon me if I step outside And watched the final stroke going down The joker left the burning building He took a big long drink of the air He said the fires almost done its work You can smell the changes everywhere Ain’t nothing left to do except to release the hounds But then that’s always been my favorite part Of the final stroke going down