When my son was 5 years old we took him and other members of our family to the circus. My father recognised one of the female trapeze artists as the daughter of a friend of his. During the show she was dressed in a colourful, spangly outfit. As we filed towards the exit after the show, we saw he in a track suit carrying out more menial tasks with some of the horses. This inspired the song "Time to Train the Horses" which deals with the reality of growing older.

Lyrics

Crusty eyes wakened by the first rays of sun,
In a new town
Brakes of the van grip the dirt of the road,
Here we are
Watch as the props of the circus unfold
Breathe in the air, touch the dew, feel the cold
It must be time to train the horses

See the young kids with the thrill in their eyes,
Like I once was
Colourful tights on those muscular thighs
Where’d they go?
Rope ladders I climbed all those years as a child
Now seem to stretch for mile after mile
It must be time to train the horses

Could I be happy settling down,
Have some time on my hands
Or would I just get lost alone in one town
So much for well-made plans

The sound of the crowd, the rush to set up
For the next show
Taking more time, to make myself up,
Here we go
The roar of applause as we run to the stage
The cramps and the pains, the baggage of age
I guess it must be time to train the horses

Crusty eyes wakened by the first rays of sun,
In a new town
Brakes of the van grip the dirt of the road,
Here we are
Colourful tights, on those muscular thighs,
Like I once was
Taking more time to make myself up,
Here we go