Natalie Merchant
Carnival (Paradise Is There Version)
[Verse]
I've walked these streets
A virtual stage, it seemed to me
Makeup on their faces
Actors took their places next to me

[Verse]
Well I've walked these streets
In a carnival of sights to see
All the cheap thrill seekers
Vendors and dealers
Crowded around me

[Chorus]
Have I been blind?
Have I been lost, inside
Myself an' my own mind?
Hypnotized, mesmerized
By what my eyes have seen?

[Verse]
I've walked these streets
In a spеctacle of wealth and poverty
In thе diamond market
The scarlet welcome carpet
They just rolled out for me
[Verse]
I've walked these streets
In the madhouse asylum they can be
Where a wild-eyed misfit prophet
On a traffic island stopped
And he raved of saving me

[Chorus]
Have I been blind?
Have I been lost, inside
Myself an' my own mind?
Hypnotized, mesmerized
By what my eyes have seen

[Post-Chorus]
Have I been wrong?
Have I been wise, to shut
My eyes and play along?
Hypnotized, paralyzed
By what my eyes have found
By what my eyes have seen
Ooh, what they have seen

[Bridge]
Have I been blind?
Have I been lost?
Oh, have I been lost?
Have I been wise?
Have I been weak?
Have I been strong?
Oh, have I been strong?
Hypnotized and mesmerized
By what my eyes have found
What my eyes have found
In that, in that great street carnival
[Bridge/Outro]
Have I been blind?
Have I been lost
Oh, have I been lost?
Have I been wise?
Have I been weak?
Have I been strong?
Oh, have I been strong?
Have I been hypnotized, mesmerized
By what my eyes have found
What my eyes have found
In that, in that great street carnival
In that carnival...?