1975 (Shirley sings two show tune songs, the 1st a slow emotional ballad of 'Send In The Clowns' and the 2nd an upbeat jazz version of 'Bye Bye Blackbird) Shirley Bassey TV Special)
ABOUT the song, Send In The Clowns:
"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
ABOUT the song, Bye Bye Blackbird:
"Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by the American composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Gene Austin in 1926.
There is much speculation about the meaning of the song. At least two commentators (using the same source) attribute the song to a prostitute's leaving the business and going home to her mother. As such, it is the opposite of "House of the Rising Sun", where the prostitute returns to the business. The reason for the song's apparent ambiguity is that the opening verse and the verses about the bluebird are rarely sung. See, for example, the listing at lyricsplayground.
LYRICS:
pack up all my care and woe,
Here I go singing low,
Bye bye blackbird.
Where somebody waits for me,
Sugar's sweet, so is he,
Bye bye blackbird.
No one here can love or understand me,
Oh what hard luck stories, they all hand me.
make my bed and light the light,
I'll arive late tonight,
Blackbird, bye bye.
I'm gonna pack up all my cares and woe,
Here I go singin' low,
Bye bye blackbird.
Where somebody waits for me,
Sugar is sweet, so is he,
Bye bye blackbird.
No one here can love or understand me,
Oh what hard luck stories, they all hand me.
Make my bed and light the light,
I'll arive late tonight
Blackbird, blackbird, blackbird... bye bye
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