(matraca berg/gary harrison)

At nine oclock each morning down on charlotte avenue
The bus driver stops and lets her off
Before the first shampoo
Alice started working there when she was just a girl
And now she mans the second chair
At thelmas cut and curl

A trim is just ten dollars and the conversations free
She recreates the latest styles of 1963
With a lipstick-circled cigarette constantly aflame
She greets all her clientele
By first and middle names

And even though that mirror paints a picture much too clear
Shell mix you up some magic and shell dye away the years
And, oh, they come and go so fast
Dont they, alice -- alice in the looking glass

One time she was married, but now she lives alone
But theres a little ancient poodle
Waiting there for her at home
And shell tell you all about him like he was her only child
And rubs her swollen ankles
While she waits for you to dry

Theres a picture on the mirror there of her at seventeen
The day that thelma did her hair when she was football queen
And, oh, they come and go so fast
Dont they, alice -- alice in the looking glass

Even though that mirror paints a picture much too clear
Shell mix you up some magic and shell dye away the years
And, oh, they keep coming back
Dont they, alice -- alice in the looking glass