Album version
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
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on his 1973 album The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY as released in 1973.
The song was known under the title "Circus Song" before its release on The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was inspired by the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus that visited Springsteen's hometown of Freehold, NJ, every summer. The song was written in mid-1972 as CIRCUS SONG, and according to Brucebase, it was recorded for the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album, but that version has never surfaced. It was recorded again for The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle album under a new title, WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY.
The band line-up on this track is unknown, but as far as one can tell, Bruce Springsteen sings vocals and handles acoustic guitar, Danni Federici plays accordion, and Garry Tallent plays tuba which simulates an elephant trumpet. The track also has drums and harmonica, and possibly mandolin. The track, as well as the whole album, was recorded at Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY and produced by Mike Appel and Jimmy Cretecos.
CIRCUS TOWN is a rumoured song from the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. period (April 1972 to February 1973). It is is probably an early draft of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY, or possibly just an alternate title for it. The song may also be related to WILD BILLY'S LULLABY.
The song always had the same melody, but the title change reflects modest changes in the lyrics, especially in the third and last verses.
| "Circus Song", verse 1: | ...Behind the tent, the leather boy tightens... |
| "Wild Billy's Circus Story", verse 1: | ...Behind the tent, the hired hand tightens... |
| "Circus Song", verse 2: | [no variations] |
| "Wild Billy's Circus Story", verse 2: | [no variations] |
| "Circus Song", verse 3: | ...And behind the tent, half bent, money spent, with his wet makeup drippin' on the ground There's a half-smile, half-frown going down... |
| "Wild Billy's Circus Story", verse 3: | ...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... |
| "Circus Song", verse 4: | ...The strong man lifts the midget on his shoulders, up, up, up above the liar Hear the liar He's outside sighin' Hear the liar Whisperin' to the barker Hear the liar Checkin' out the center ring Hear the liar Feel his fire Hear the liar He's so scared of dyin' Anybody wanna try the big top?... |
| "Wild Billy's Circus Story", verse 4: | ...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?"... |
The above "Circus Song" lyrics are based on the live 31 Jan (early show) 1973 version, but they're almost the same in all versions up to April 1973.
The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle is Bruce Springsteen's second studio album. It was recorded between mid-May 1973 and mid-September 1973 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. Studio time was slotted in during various itinerary breaks in the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour, but recording sessions dragged on much longer than originally anticipated and this eventually caused some gig rescheduling and cancellations during the period from July to September 1973.
The album's recording sessions can be split into distinct phases:
Most of the basic ensemble recording of The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle emanates from the first phase of sessions, prior to the arrival of David Sancious to the sessions on 22 Jun 1973. Sancious verified in a late seventies interview with Thunder Road magazine that most of the session songs had already been recorded (as basic tracks) by the time he joined. He then overdubbed his parts onto these recordings. THE E STREET SHUFFLE is an exception, which was written after Sancious became a member of the band. The latter phase of the sessions involved embellishing additional "frills" instrumentation, vocals, and experimenting with different mixes. No audio evidence has yet emerged that any of the basic recordings of were re-recorded from scratch with Sancious. Indeed, one of the most noteworthy aspects to the audio evidence that has emerged from The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle recording sessions is that there is not one genuine alternate take to be found – all song recording variations are merely alternate mixes of the same basic recording.
The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle was produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos and engineered by Louis Lahav. It features 7 new Springsteen compositions and clocks at 46:47. It was commercially released on 05 Nov 1973.
Other versions of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY were also officially released.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY is known to have been performed at least once in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972). Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY is known to have been performed at least 7 times during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour (October 1972 to September 1973). Many of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. It is also known that Springsteen often performed it during his short-lived solo period in summer 1972 and occasionally included it in his opening solo acoustic segment during the first three months of the tour. On this tour, the song was played in an acoustic version, and at least in the 1973 part, it featured Bruce Springsteen on guitar, Danny Federici on accordion, and Garry Tallent on tuba. The live 01 May 1973 version of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was released on the Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run home video in 2005.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY is known to have been performed at least 8 times during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour (September 1973 to March 1975), all in a three-month period between late January and April 1974. Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. On this tour, the song was played in an acoustic version, with Bruce Springsteen on guitar, Danny Federici on accordion, and Garry Tallent on tuba.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was performed 3 times during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour (128 dates, November 1995 to May 1997), on the three November 1996 Asbury Park shows. On this tour, the song was played in an acoustic arrangement featuring Bruce Springsteen on acoustic guitar and vocals, plus guests Danny Federici on accordion and Soozie Tyrell on violin. The live 24 Nov 1996 version of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was released on the Asbury Park 11/24/96 official live download in 2019.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was sound-checked prior to the 09 Dec 2002 show in Columbia, SC, (as far as it's known) but it was not performed on any of The Rising Tour's regular shows.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was performed 7 times during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour (72 dates, April to November 2005). On this tour, the song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. See the live 22 Jun 2005 version.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was performed once during the Magic Tour (100 dates, October 2007 to August 2008), on 27 Apr 2008 in Charlotte, NC. The song was played in a full-band arrangement. See the live 27 Apr 2008 version for more details.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was performed once during the Working On A Dream Tour (83 dates, April to November 2009), on 07 Nov 2009 in New York City, NY. The song was played in a full-band arrangement. The live 07 Nov 2009 version of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was released on the MSG 11.07.09 official live download in 2020.
In 1973 and 1974, Bruce Springsteen performed WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY on five radio performances. On all five occasions, and as it was the case during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour and The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle Tour, the song was played in an acoustic version, with Bruce Springsteen on guitar, Danny Federici on accordion, and Garry Tallent on tuba. See the individual versions below for more details.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was performed during one of the five 2001 Asbury Park holiday shows. These concerts were billed as "Bruce Springsteen with The Max Weinberg 7 and Friends", with The Max Weinberg 7 serving as the house band, and Springsteen bringing guests on and off the stage throughout the shows. The song was played in a full-band arrangement with Springsteen backed by The Max Weinberg 7, plus Garry Tallent on tuba (see the live 04 Dec 2001 version).
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was performed off-tour on 16 Nov 1990 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA, during the benefit shows for the Christic Institute. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar. The live 16 Nov 1990 version of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was released on The Christic Shows, November 16 & 17, 1990 official live download in 2016.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was performed off-tour on 19 Dec 2004 at Harry's Roadhouse in Asbury Park, NJ, during the first of the two holiday jam shows that took place that day. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement. See the live 19 Dec 2004 (early show) version for more details.
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was performed off-tour on 25 Sep 2009 at Apollo Theater in New York City, NY, during the taping of "Spectacle: Elvis Costello With Bruce Springsteen". The song was played in a unique acoustic arrangement featuring Bruce Springsteen on vocals and acoustic guitar, Nils Lofgren on acoustic guitar, and Roy Bittan on accordion. The live 25 Sep 2009 version of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY was released on the Spectacle: Elvis Costello With... (Season 2) home video in 2011.
As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for all the help.
Some of the above info about the studio recording and the live performances is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY on this website:
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY [Album version]
