about
I wrote this 25 years ago, in 1997. The original demo was done on a tape 4 track with a Yamaha Pacifica and an absolutely terrible bass I bought in Tin Pan Alley. That demo is probably more fun than this, but I wanted to redo it for its 25th anniversary now that I've got some cool toys to record it with. I've sped it up a bit (I think it was 166bpm previously*, 173 now. I've put gratuitous brass and piccolo flutes in. Not sure if that helped but I had fun anyway.
*well, it varied quite a lot, but this was the average
Verse:
C#m, D#m, B, F#, B, F#, C#, D#7
C#m, D#m, B, F#, B, F#, C#, D#7
Prechorus:
D#, C#7sus4, Ab7sus4, C#add9
Chorus:
F#, Abm7, C#7sus4, F#
F#, Abm7, C#7sus4, F#
C#, C#7sus4, Bm, F#
~~~~
Chorus 2:
F#, Abm7, C#7sus4, F#
F#, Abm7, C#7sus4, F#
F#, Abm7, C#7sus4, F#
F#, Abm7, C#7sus4, F#
C#, C#7sus4, Bm, F#
D#, D#7sus4, D#sus4
Instrumental:
Ab, A#m7, D#7sus4, D#
Ab A#m7, C#m6, C#m7
Ab, A#m7, D#7sus4, D#
lyrics
Since I was a young boy
I've had this same desire
It's burned in me like fire
Till nothing else remained
It has cost me friendships
Cos most just laugh right at me
The kindest smiled exactly
Like I was insane
So if you promise that you will not even smile
I want to run away and join the circus
Cos the circus life is just the life for me
I want to try and learn to walk the tightrope
and then swing acrobatically with ease
So perfect all the crowds are on their knees
I dream I'm ringmaster
The biggest big top circus
I would be so infamous
For my great sideshows
Wake up in the morning
Feeling tired and weary
Feeling so inferi-
-or to you my friends
So if you promise that you will not raise a smile
I want to run away and join the circus
Cos the circus life is just the life for me
I want to try and learn to walk the tightrope
and then swing acrobatically with ease
I want to try and be a lion tamer
and stun you with my big cat expertise
I want to run away and joint the circus
cos the circus life is just the life for me
The circus life is just the life for me
The circus life is just the life for me
The circus life is just the life for me
1, 2, 3, 4
Come on roll up
Come on roll up
I want to run away and join the circus
Cos the circus life is just the life for me
I want to try and learn to walk the tightrope
and then swing acrobatically with ease
I want to try and be a lion tamer
and stun you with my big cat expertise
I want to run away and join the circus
Cos the circus life is just the life for me
I want to run away and join the circus
Cos the circus life is just the life for me
I want to run away and join the circus
Cos the circus life is just the life for me
I want to run away and join the circus
Cos the circus life is just the life for me
credits
license
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