Watch children cry
The pageant sells a lie
Third place isn't winning, you know
And neither is first
The pressure and the thirst
For the skeletons show

I am so thin-skinned
Don't scratch the surface
Please let me live within
Within this circus

Little dreams come crashing
Let them wave in passing
'Cause fame won't love you like a mother, like a father should
And you may wish for Oscars
Grammys and blockbusters
But they won't love you like a brother, like a lover should

No, oh
Fame won't love you like a mother, like a father should
Woah, oh
Fame won't love you like a mother, like a father should

I searched in your eyes for some glimmer of light
Tap dancing for one million miles
I looked for the smiles, oh, hoping in them, I’d find
Validation for my futile existence

I am so thin-skinned
Don't scratch the surface
Please let me live within
Within this circus

Little dreams come crashing
Let them wave in passing
'Cause fame won't love you like a mother, like a father should
And you may wish for Oscars
Grammys and blockbusters
But they won't love you like a brother, like a lover should

No, no
Fame won't love you like a mother, like a father should
No, no
Fame won't love you like a mother, like a father should

No, oh
Fame won't love you like a mother, like a father should
Woah, oh
Fame won't love you like a mother, like a father should
Woah