[Verse]
Bernard blows up balloons   
while his brother shines the shoes.  
Every morning they're here   
by sunrise.    
While the kids choose between  
a cat or a wolverine,  
he tells them stories written 
for princesses and kings.    
And the parents give him a wink  
'cause he's helping their children think.  
"What rises to one man  
but to another sinks?"  
   
[Pre-Chorus]
His brother always smiles  
when he sees the children smile,  
for the five thousandth time.  
It's their job to make things shine.    
In the center there's a clue  
where the sun breaks through.  
Bernard will bend anything   
you ask him to.  
  
[Chorus]
Whether you want a flower  
or you want a sword,  
he'll bend anything 
that you ask him to.    
Whether you're a child  
or a sales adviser,  
he'll bend anything  
that you ask him to.  
  

[Verse]
I've seen men who own five cars  
drop a dollar in his jar,  
while their kids look up to the man  
who folds balloons in the park.    
They don't see him when he leaves  
to hunt the fools of forgery. 
You wouldn't think it of a man  
who shapes animals for free.    
But he finds a way to get by  
with his brother by his side.  
What they don't make in tips  
the city will provide.  
 

[Pre-Chorus]  
His brother always smiles 
at their pampered lifestyle 
while Bernard marks with a crest 
the yuppies heading west.   
He moves along the breeze   
where children never see.  
His name is Bernard,  
and he'll bend anything.   
  
[Chorus]
Whether you want a flower  
or you want a sword,  
he'll bend anything   
that you ask him to.    
Whether you are a drifter  
or a corrupt vendor,  
he'll bend anything  
that you ask him to.  
  
[Bridge]  
Next time you're in the mood  
for a clue to undo, 
follow the trail of knots 
where the bike taxis stop,  
and see the man in the middle   
breathing life into riddles, 
sitting high in the clearing.  
Just take a look at the crowd  
he can bend anything.  
  
[Verse]
At the crack of dawn he begins  
with a worn out bobby pin 
and with the grace of God  
he sets up all over again.    
Once he's tapped the compressed air   
and leaned back in his chair  
he motions for the toddlers, 
to rub balloons in their hair.    
Their hair will spread like roots,  
reaching out for some truth,  
reaching out into space  
when he takes it away.    
 

[Pre-Chorus]

"Even Death requires breath," 
says those wine stained cigarettes, 
the stay-at-home moms 

who stay longer than the rest. 
 
[Chorus]  
Whether you want a flower  
or you want a sword,  
he'll bend anything   
that you ask him to.    
Whether you're a child  
or a mother of style  
he'll bend anything  
that you ask him to.