The Joke Must Go On (4:00)

Humor's ductility
And malleability
Speak to my weakness
And to its utility

I pull it to spools
To thread through my history
Beat it to sheets
To plate each catastrophe
Yet its presence confides
What the silver lining hides

Comic diversion's
A chronic subversion
I can't say I'm surprised
If gilding its framing
Makes art of a painting
No matter what it shows

The joke must go on.

Presumption of innocence
Or assumption of ignorance
Permits you to issue
The truth without consequence
When said in jest
Thereby revealing
Through dishonest means
Your most honest feelings
Yet I bet that this oath
Gets the better of us both:

Let wit do thy bidding
You've got to be kidding
I tried and I laughed till I cried
But if you keep pretending
You don't know the ending
Until you're told
I'm sold

The joke must go on.