Wild Billy's Circus Story

Home » Statistical Information » Songs » Songs =- W -= » Wild Billy's Circus Story

Track 4 of The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, 1973. Performed live before actual release as "Circus Song".

The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (1973)
- Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar, harmonica, mandolin
- Danny Federici: accordion
- Vini Lopez: drum roll*
- Garry Tallent: tuba

^{* Mike Appel claims that this was not performed by Lopez but by an uncredited sessions drummer.}

CIRCUS SONG - V1		uncirculating
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY - V2	4:38	WIESS

Note: Written in 1972 as "Circus Town" and performed live as an acoustic show opener from December 1972 (by which time it was being called "Circus Song") up until mid-1974. Inspired by memories of the circus that came to Freehold every summer when Bruce was young: "I’ve stood around carnivals at midnight when they're clearing up and I was scared, I met some dangerous people." On April 24, 1973 at the Main Point, Little Tiny Tim says, "Sampson, where's the liars? / Oh, they're outside cryin' / Oh, hear the liars / Oh, feel their fire / Hear the liars / They're so scared of dyin'," after which he sings "Well, anybody wanna try the big top? / All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop." Though he had performed "Circus Song" with these lyrics since January, he made a change just before appearing May 1, 1973 at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, where it was to be filmed for showing at the CBS Sales Convention in July. The final verse was changed to, "And the strong man, Sampson, lifts the midget, little Tiny Tim, way up on his shoulders, way up and carries him on down the midway, past the kids, past the sailors, to his dimly lit trailer, and the Ferris go 'round and 'round like it ain't ever gonna stop / And the circus boss is whispering into some little boy's ear, "Hey son, you wanna try the big top?" All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop!" In the blink of an eye, "Circus Song" went from the killer of every boy's dream to run away and join the circus, to something less nefarious, and that's the way it stayed. Click this link for further details.

The first studio recordings were made on May 14, 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, with eight takes; it is not known if any of these recordings survived, but are listed above as V1. Work on "Circus Song" was resumed with two days on June 25 and 26 and final dubs on the 28th, the complete album take renamed "Wild Billy's Circus Story". When or why the title of the song was changed is not currently known, but it was June or later, at least as far as documentation goes. Mike Appel claims that the midsong press roll is not performed by Vini Lopez but by an uncredited sessions drummer.

^{Studio Sessions: The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle}

Wild Billy's Circus Story

A-one, two, three, four

The machinist climbs his Ferris wheel like a brave
And the fire eater's lyin' in a pool of sweat, victim of the heat wave
Behind the tent, the hired hand tightens his legs on the sword swallower's blade
And circus town's on the shortwave

Well, the runway lies ahead like a great false dawn
Whoa, Fat Lady, Big Mama, Missy Bimbo sits in her chair and yawns
And the man-beast lies in his cage sniffing popcorn
Yeah, the midget licks his fingers and suffers Missy Bimbo's scorn
The circus town's been born

Whoa, and a press roll, drummer go, ballerina to-and-fro
Cartwheelin' up on that tightrope with a cannon blast, lightin' flash
Movin' fast, through the tent, Mars bent, he's gonna miss his fall
Oh, God save the human cannonball
And the flying Zambinis watch Margarita do her neck twist
And the ringmaster gets the crowd to count along: "Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven"
A ragged suitcase in his hand, he steals silently away from the circus grounds
And the highway's haunted by the carnival sounds
They dance like a great greasepaint ghost on the wind
A man in baggy pants, a lonely face, a crazy grin
Runnin' home to some small Ohio town
Jesus, send some good women to save all your clowns

And circus boy dances like a monkey on barbed wire
And the barker romances with a junkie, she's got a flat tire
And now the elephants dance real funky, and the band play like a jungle fire
Circus town's on the live wire
And the strong man, Sampson, lifts the midget, little Tiny Tim, way up on his shoulders, way up
And carries him on down the midway
Past the kids, past the sailors, to his dimly lit trailer
And the Ferris wheel turns and turns like it ain't ever gonna stop
And the circus boss leans over, whispers in the little boy's ear, "Hey son, you wanna try the big top?"
All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop

^{Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.}

Wild Billy's Circus Story (Live Version)

^{May 1, 1973}

All the singers have lines they say before songs to the people they dedicate it to.
But, you know, dedication is a funny thing. We got this gig in New York.
Somebody, some crazy man put this in the Madison Square Garden: "Anybody who wants a name set at Madison Square Garden can meet me backstage with a quarter."
This is a song about the circus.

Well the machinist climbs his Ferris wheel like a brave
And the fire eater's lying in a pool of sweat, victim of the heat wave
Behind the tent, the leather boy tightens his legs on the sword swallower's blade
The circus town's on the shortwave
Da

Well now, the runway lies ahead like a great false dawn
Oh, Fat Lady, Big Mama, Missy Bimbo sits in her chair and yawns
And the man-beast lies in his cage sniffing popcorn [sniffs]
The midget licks his fingers, suffers Missy Bimbo's scorn
Circus town's been born

Whoa, and a press roll, drummer go, ballerina to-and-fro
Cartwheeling up on the tightrope with a cannon blast, lighting flash
Moving fast, through the tent, Mars bent, he's gonna miss his fall
Oh, God save the human cannonball
And the flying Zambinis watch Margarita do her neck twist
The ringmaster gets the kids to count along: "Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven"
And behind the tent, half bent, money spent, with his wet face fallen on the ground
There's a half-smile, half-frown going down
Oh, Jesus, send some sweet women to save all the clowns

And circus boy dances like a monkey on barbed wire
As the barker romances with a junkie, she's got a flat tire
And the elephants dance real funky, and the band plays like a jungle fire
Circus town's on the live wire
And the strong man, Sampson, lifts the midget, little Tiny Tim, way up on his shoulders, way up
And carries him on down the midway
Oh, past the kids, past the sailors, to his dimly lit trailer
And the Ferris go 'round and 'round like it ain't ever gonna stop
And the circus boss is whispering into some little boy's ear, "Hey son, you wanna try the big top?"
All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop

^{Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.}