Carousel Man
Cher Lyrics

I had a taste of bitter life
At a very young age of sixteen I had a rough experience with life that was not pleasant.

At sweet sixteen
At the age of sixteen, which is typically a time when one is still in the early stages of developing and shaping their personality.

I was growing up too fast
I was forced to mature and take on adult-like responsibilities earlier than I should have due to my circumstances.

If you know what I mean
If you can relate to how my life was unfolding at that time.

Met an older man
I came into contact with an older man who became a significant part of my life.

Who taught me his own way to live
He showed me a lifestyle that was different from what I was used to and I began to adopt his behavior.

And all I had to do to keep him
In order to keep his attention and keep him interested in me,

Was to give and give
I had to continue to give him love and affection no matter how much I may have been feeling drained or used.

The carousel man
This older man who became the center of my world.

Kept me going around and round
He had me constantly spinning around in circles, lost in his world of lifestyle and expectations.

Carousel man always know
He always knew where I was, what I was doing, and how I was feeling.

That I'd stay around
He knew that I would never leave him because he had made himself so important to me that I didn't know how to escape from his grip.

Wouldn't let me off his merry-go-round
He made it impossible for me to leave his world and return to my own because he was my everything.

I followed him around in traveling shows
I went with him from place to place as he performed in different shows.

Along the main county lines
We traveled through various counties and towns as part of his performing group.

Watching him drinking his mind away
I saw him drink heavily and sometimes to the point of being intoxicated, which caused great concern for me.

Not ever knowing my name at time
There were times when he seemed oblivious to my presence and didn't even know my name.

Each night when the show closed down
At the end of each evening's performance, he and I would talk about our hopes and dreams for the future.

He used to tell me of his dreams
He confided in me about his personal ambitions and desires.

He was wearing new French suits
He appeared to be wealthy and successful, as evidenced by the expensive clothing he wore.

While I mended my torn jeans
Meanwhile, I was left to deal with my own struggles, like having torn clothing that needed to be repaired in order to be wearable again.

Then one night in Santa Fe
One night in Santa Fe (location specific and may represent a significant event or place for Cher).

The horses stop going around
The performers stopped performing or moving, possibly due to a tragic incident.

There he was my poor rich man
I found that the older man who had been so important to me, who had seemed so wealthy and successful, was actually deeply troubled and in a bad place in his life.

Lying on the Mexico ground
I found him lying in a location outside of his usual environment, possibly Mexico, which may symbolize that he was lost and didn't know where he belonged.

All the sad music of his life
All the negative experiences and events in his life continued to play in my mind and affect me.

Is still spinning in my mind
I am still trying to make sense of everything that had happened and process my emotions.

The carousel starts up again
Despite the trauma and pain that I had experienced, life goes on and things start to fall back into a familiar routine.

And I found my place in life
Despite everything that had happened, I came to understand who I was and what I wanted in life, and I found a way to move forward.