The butcher, the baker, the grocer, the clerk Are secretly unhappy men because The butcher, the baker, the grocer, the clerk Get paid for what they do but no applause They'd gladly bid their dreary jobs goodbye For anything theatrical and why There's no business like show business Like no business I know Everything about it is appealing Everything the traffic will allow Nowhere could you get that happy feeling When you are stealing that extra bow There's no people like show people They smile when they are low Even when they tell you that your show will fold You may be stranded out in the cold Still, you wouldn't change it for a sack of gold Let's go on with the show The cowboys, the tumblers, the wrestlers, the clowns The roustabouts who move the show at dawn The music, the spotlight, the people, the towns Your baggage with the labels pasted on The sawdust and the horses and the smell The towel you've taken from the last hotel There's no business like show business Like no business I know You get word before the show has started That your favorite uncle died at dawn Top of that your pa and ma have parted You're broken hearted but you go on There's no people like show people They smile when they are low Yesterday, they told you, you would not go far That night you opened and there you are Next day, on your dressing room they've hung the star Let's go on with the show