Ferdinand standing in the tower Thinkin' how to get the power Empress knows that it would cost her For Ferdinand The Impostor Came to me to make a deal Dressed like General Butterfield Couldn't wait to thank him for The stuffed birds and rubber door Donated to him from the poor It's just his game And he carries no shame But he done nobody wrong He knew he didn't belong But he went along Looking to see if there's somebody Else he'd like to be Benny the Barber, Luke and me Passed out tickets cautiously To see the burning of the soup Down at Lucy's chicken coop Then of course Ferdinand Started out doing Charlie Chan That last atlas honky's fall He says he's gonna do them all A voice just said he's not for real But it's just his game And he carries no shame But he done nobody wrong He knew he didn't belong But he went along Lookin' to see if there's somebody Else he'd like to be, mainly free It's hard, oh, don't you know? To be somebody that you don't even know But he's friendly, yes he's kind I can't help wonderin' Why they'd want to change his mind? I got a message in the mail Ferdinand was thrown in jail I left the snow with Abigail Went on down to fix his bail Locked in a gunny sack His hands were tied behind his back He claimed he was a Doukhobor But they never heard of that in Baltimore The police said He'd better go home And he went back alone Back to the snow But still he done nobody wrong He just didn't belong but he went along Lookin' to see if there's somebody Else he'd like to be, mainly free