A ragged man came shuffling through
A puppet king on the fourth of June
And butterflies from all around
Settled on his paper crown 

A pretty sight it seemed to be
An avenue of eternal peace
But he said, "What is here can soon burn down..."
"I'm the king of Sunset Town."

Watch a big wheel turning 'round
Some go up, and some go down
Some go thirsty, some just drown
"That's the law 'round here,"
Said the king of Sunset Town

And in the night he comes to me
And the square becomes a battlefield
Of staring eyes that can't explain
The insanity and the greater game

Watch a big wheel turning 'round
Some go up, and some go down
Some go thirsty, some just drown
"That's the law 'round here,"

Said the king of sunset town
A ragged man came shuffling through
The corridors of this white place
And as he lay his body down

I saw the scars that lined his face
And injured souls came to his bed
To hear the stories he would tell
Of butterflies and summertimes

And everyone assembled here
Remembers how it used to be
Before the twenty-seventh came
This place will never be the same

He said, "I'm the king of sunset town."
Watch a big wheel turning 'round
Some go up, and some go down
Some go thirsty, some just drown

"That's the law round here,"
Said the king of sunset town