And they fell from the skies with the greatest of ease

And they landed on the ground under tents and trapeze

And they were told that they fell with such beauty and grace

That The Flying Wallendas would be the name on their case



And the fine folks of Akron would forever be saying

That they flew through the air like the wings of a prayer

But they all walked away amidst the gawking and stares

And the children revisited their fall in nightmares

But they never would stop and they never surrendered

And they lived like they died, The Flying Wallendas



They could dance on the wire through the fire and the storm

John Ringling had seen Karl in Cuba perform

He raised up his kids for performance and stardom

They performed center ring at Madison Square Garden

With a seven man pyramid folks lined up just to see 'em

Till they fell from the sky at Detroit's State Fair Coliseum



And they fell to the ground with the greatest of ease

Three didn't get up from the blood in the breeze

But Karl wouldn't be stopped from his home in the skies

Till he fell from the wire in San Juan and he died



In Sarasota as a child my grandparents lived next door

To the surviving Wallendas and their amazing wild stories

I was stun and astounded that the old lady who was out

Pruning her orange trees had flown to the heavens and back