[Verse 1]
Maybe it's just age or a thousand other fears
That took me back tonight to my early carnival years
I can see the parade movin' like the source of the old gulf stream
Oh what a lovely dream

[Verse 2]
Adolescent lust was begging for a start
As I side-stepped those brothers with their sacred hearts
Yet for those two weeks a year, it was all about sin
Folly's chasin' death, you can count me in

[Chorus 1]
There's a flambeaux man with a gold earring
And the cold north wind smells like kerosene
Here comes the float of the Carnival Queen
I want to wrap her in serpentine

[Bridge]
Hands up high, eyes open wide
Throw me something mister, that's why you ride
Cracker Jacks with toys inside
Real beyond our wildest dreams
Floats and masks and a two mule team
Some things really are the way they seem
[Verse 3]
Beads and confetti were littering the air
When the Queen looked at me with her Ava Gardner stare
Though tomorrow would bring ashes and penance by the ton
Mardi Gras's where I learned to have fun

[Chorus 2]
There's a flambeaux man with a gold earring
And the cold north wind smells like kerosene
I'm still in love with the Carnival Queen
I want to wrap her in serpentine

[Outro]
Still want to wrap her in serpentine
It was the devil!