Shirley Bassey - Send In The Clowns (1985 Live In Cardiff) video free download

1985 (Cardiff Concert TV Special)

ABOUT this song:

"Send in the Clowns" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night. It is a ballad from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she looks back on an affair years earlier with the lawyer Fredrik. Meeting him after so long, she finds that he is now in an unconsummated marriage with a much younger woman. Desirée proposes marriage to rescue him from this situation, but he declines, citing his dedication to his bride. Reacting to his rejection, Desirée sings this song. The song is later reprised as a coda after Fredrik's young wife runs away with his son, and Fredrik is finally free to accept Desirée's offer.

Sondheim wrote the song specifically for the actress Glynis Johns, who created the role of Desirée on Broadway. The song is structured with four verses and a bridge, and uses a complex triple meter. It became Sondheim's most popular song after Judy Collins and Frank Sinatra recorded it in 1975. Subsequently, Dame Shirley Bassey, Judi Dench, Grace Jones, Barbra Streisand, Zarah Leander, Tiger Lillies and many other famous artists have recorded the song, and it became a jazz standard.

LYRICS:

Isn't it rich?

Are we a pair?

Me here at last on the ground

And you in mid-air

Send in the clowns

Isn't it bliss?

Don't you approve?

One who keeps tearing around

One who can't move

Where are the clowns?

Send in the clowns

Just when I stopped

Opening doors

Finally knowing the one

That I wanted was yours

Making my entrance again

With my usual flair

Sure of my lines

No one is there

Don't you love farce?

My fault, I fear

I thought that you want what I want

Sorry, my dear

But where are the clowns?

Quick, send in the clowns

Don't bother

They're here

Isn't it rich?

Isn't it queer?

Losing my timing this late

In my career?

And where are the clowns?

There ought to be clowns

Well maybe

Next year