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Live 24 Apr 1973 (early show) version
[Spoken intro:] Uh... I'll bring up some of the other guys in the band. Come on up. You folks are probably saying, "What's this folk singer doing dressed up so fancy?" Right? (chuckles) This is our bid for competition with Chicago, this number. We bring out the... we bring out the brass... no jive, we don't fool around. I found Danny, uh... playing in the audience at a Lawrence Welks Show... playing so good, I asked him if he wanna join my band. This is a circus song, as are most of our numbers. (chuckles) But uh... Ok. I'll start it myself (chuckles).
The machinist climbs his Ferris wheel like a brave
The fire eater's lyin' in the pool of sweat, victim of the heat wave
Behind the tent, the leather boy tightened his legs on the sword swallower's blade
Circus town's on the shortwave
Well, the runway lies ahead like a great false dawn
Ooh, Fat Lady, Big Mama, Missy Bimbo sits in her chair and yawns
The man-beast lies in his cage sniffin' 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
Cartwheelin' up on the 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
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 drippin' to the ground
With a half-smile, half-frown going down
Jesus, send some sweet women to save all the 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 the elephants dance real funky, and the band plays like a jungle fire
Circus town's on the live wire
And strong man Sampson lifts the midget, little Tiny Tim, way up on his shoulders, up, way up, oh, above the liars
Little Tiny goes, "Where's the liars?"
Sampson goes, "Outside parkin' the cars in the parking lot"
Little Tiny goes, "Where's the liars?"
Sampson goes, "Over there whisperin', making deals with the barker"
Little Tiny Tim says, "Sampson, where's the liars?"
They're inside sighin'
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'
Well, anybody wanna try the big top?
All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop
[Spoken outro:] Thank you. Thank you very much.
The above lyrics are for the live 24 Apr 1973 early show performance of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA, during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. The song was played in acoustic version, with Bruce Springsteen on guitar, Danny Federici on accordion, and Garry Tallent on tuba. Early versions of the song, including this one, feature some lyrics different from the album version, especially in the third and fourth verses. The fourth verse in this particular version features a unique (among circulating versions, at least) lyrical ending wherein Tiny Tim and Sampson discuss "the liars".
In April 1973, Bruce Springsteen performed a two-night stand at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA (24 and 25 Apr 1973). He played two shows each night, an early one at 08:00 PM and a late one at 10:00 PM. These were double-bill shows, with Springsteen headlining and folk duo Aztec Two-Step opening. The complete early show from the first night was broadcast live on Philadelphia's WMMR-FM. That was Bruce Springsteen's first real time concert venue simulcast. Since then, the audio has widely circulated in excellent quality among collectors.
The 24 Apr 1973 WBCN-FM radio broadcast was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake). Some of the above information is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY on this website:
WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY [Album version]
