And They're Off

Ponies in the sun

The race is soon beginning

My father bet the family fortune

On a sleek, brown horse

My father had a hunch

We gave up lunch

So Daddy could make a wager

Ma would scoff

She would scoff

Hear her scoff

And they're off!

(La la la la la la la la la la)

Yeah, they're off

(La la la la la la la la la la)

And they move in a herd

Like a four-letter word

And they're off (la la la la)

Tickets flung

To the ground

And the band starts to play

As the horses go 'round

And they're off!

Mommy sat and cried

But Dad was... unaffected

He said:

Have you ever had a better two minutes

In the last three years?

She said:

But, Joe, the dumb horse lost

He said:

Sometimes joy has a terrible cost

I know that

We would laugh

We would sneer

We would scoff

And they're off!

(La la la la la la la la la la)

Yeah, they're off

(La la la la la la la la la la)

Mommy's biting his neck

As they roll on the deck

And they're off (la la la la)

There is blood

On the ground

And the band starts to play

As the horses go 'round

And they're off!

Isn't life funny?

People lose money

And have fun

Betting, of course, is hell on the horses

And on families where the betting is done

It's a joke to believe someone's won

All we did was fight

Plus, they discussed the weather

My father bet the family fourtune

'Til it dissapeared

We also laughed a lot

That was a thing I often forgot to mention

But it's true

Yes, it's true

It is true

And he's off!

(La la la la la la la la la la)

Daddy's off!

(La la la la la la la la la la)

We get letters from Maine

Where he tries to explain

Why he's off (la la la la)

What was lost

Was not found

And the band starts to play

As the horses go round

And they're off

Then they're off!

(I hear the band at the starting gates)

They are off!

(We're celebrating as they're movin', movin' down the tracks)

And they move in a herd, like a four-letter word

And they're off (comin' down the stretch)

There is blood (there is blood)

On the ground (on the ground)

And the band starts to play

As the horses go 'round

And 'round (and 'round)

And 'round (and 'round)

And around (and around)

And around (and around, and 'round)

And 'round! (And 'round, and 'round, and 'round, and 'round, and around)

And they're off!