Come closer, come closer
The clown of the market street has arrived
Whether he's the funny one or the frightening one
You'll only know if you stay to the end
Put on a mask and I'm a nobleman
Take it off and I'm lowborn again
Standing in the middle of the Jongno crossroads
I turn the world over with a single fan
Puppet in the left hand, drumstick in the right
What comes out of my mouth is laughter and poison
When a lord passes I bow at the waist
And behind his back I copy that walk
Hahaha, laugh — hold your belly and laugh
You don't know there's a blade inside the laughing
Who's the madman here, who's the clown
On this stage I'm the king
The real madman is inside the palace
And the real king is here in the market
The market street, the market street
Rumor travels faster than wind
The market street, the market street
Laughter is sharper than a blade
One word thrown travels a thousand ri
The guards come, but there's no evidence
You cannot arrest a clown's mouth
It's already in the people's ears
Tightrope by day, courier by night
A cup of wine at the tavern and news changes hands
The writing of a scholar exiled to Jeju
Rode hidden in my song all the way to Hanyang
The constable eyes me, suspicious
But I'm only a clown, a fool doing fool's work
One round of mask dance mocking the gentry
The people laugh and the gentry squirm
That squirming is my weapon
A blade of truth wrapped in laughter
Who's the madman here, who's the clown
On this stage I'm the king
The real madman is inside the palace
And the real king is here in the market
The market street, the market street
Rumor travels faster than wind
The market street, the market street
Laughter is sharper than a blade
One word thrown travels a thousand ri
The guards come, but there's no evidence
You cannot arrest a clown's mouth
It's already in the people's ears
People ask me why I became a clown
I didn't choose it — born lowborn, that was that
But this place is what made me free
A nobleman is bound by face, a king by his crown
Only I am free, because I have nothing
The most dangerous man is the one with nothing to lose
This one drumstick is my sword
And this one mask is my armor
The market street, the market street
Rumor travels faster than wind
The market street, the market street
Laughter is sharper than a blade
One word thrown travels a thousand ri
The guards come, but there's no evidence
You cannot arrest a clown's mouth
It's already in the people's ears
Come closer, come closer
I'll see you at the next market
The rumor has already left
Blow harder, wind