Tra-la-la! [song]

Tra-la-la!       amid the world I live
tra-la-la!       it lends me what I give
        the world is pain & pleasure
        a trouble & a treasure
tra-la-la-la-la!

Tra-la-la!       I find & lose my way
tra-la-la!       my way I lose & find
        if things appear uncertain
        is certainty a'flirtin'?
tra-la-la-la-la!

Tra-la-la!       my patience nestles deep
tra-la-la!       my soul is still asleep
        I'm but a lump of clay
        a'changing every day
tra-la-la-la-la!

Tra-la-la!       the horse before the cart
tra-la-la!       the fortitude of art
        does stuggle seem unending?
        the river's ocean-wending
tra-la-la-la-la!


Then, the singer wheels his cart a little ways along the road
(onstage) [admittedly there's no horse, but poetic license is
granted this work of operatic whimsy], and the story proceeds.

Enters stage left: a child, perhaps age 8, with a top in hand ...