"Circus" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Eric Clapton | ||||
from the album Pilgrim | ||||
Released | June 1998 | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 4:06 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Songwriter(s) | Eric Clapton | |||
Producer(s) | Eric Clapton · Simon Climie | |||
Eric Clapton singles chronology | ||||
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Audio | ||||
"Circus" (1992 unplugged live) by Eric Clapton on YouTube | ||||
"Circus" (1998 studio version) by Eric Clapton on YouTube |
"Circus Left Town",also known as "Circus" is a ballad written by the British recording artist Eric Clapton. The rock musician wrote the song about the last night he spent with his then four-year-old son Conor. [1] Although Clapton played and recorded the song for his 1992 million seller live album Unplugged ,he decided to release the title six years later as a re-recording for both his 1998 effort Pilgrim and as a single release. However,Clapton played the song live for his 1992 Eric Clapton World Tour,before it came out on any recording formats. [2]
Clapton wrote the song in the summer of 1991. [3] When it came time for Clapton to write the lyrics,the British rock musician wanted to put the last experience he had with his young son in the song. In a BBC interview from 1998 Clapton remembered:"The last night I spent with Conor,we went to the circus. We went to see one of those huge things that they do in America where they have three rings going on at the same time. You've got clowns and tigers and everything. They don't do anything in half measures. They just pile it all in. Plus,they're trying to sell you things at the same time. I mean it was an amazing thing. After the show,we were driving back to New York City and all he could remember,all he could talk about was this clown. He'd seen a clown with a knife,which I didn't see at all. Some clown was running around brandishing a knife,which was something quite frightening but he liked it –I mean it excited him. And so that is in the lyrics. But,and I suppose what I was doing,I was remembering,I mean paying tribute to this night with him and also seeing him as being the circus of my life. You know –that particular part of my life has now left town". [4]
"Circus Left Town" is written in a pop and rock music vein. It features styles of adult contemporary, adult rock and contemporary pop rock music. [5] Although the whole song is based around an A-major-7-harmony and chords structure, Clapton uses a lot of minor chords to give the song the sad atmosphere and emotion the British composer went through when hearing about his son's death. [6] For the recording, Clapton used a nylon string acoustic guitar he played with the Clawhammer technique, which he prefers to play on acoustic guitar. [7] The song's lyrics consist of three different parts. "Circus" starts out with a four-part verse, followed by the chorus. Afterwards, the second verse is sung by Clapton, leading with a double time repeat of the chorus to the end of the song. In the title, Clapton sings about his son's joyous personality and the fact, that this evening at the circus, will be his son's last. In the second verse, Clapton describes the happy and joyful heart his son has been given and tells his son Conor, what he would do with him, if he would be still alive. The chorus features the pain Clapton felt and Conor's friends, who would all gather one last time, since the circus left the town, New York City. In the song, Clapton expresses what a deep and personal connection the songwriter felt with his son as he uses declamatory descriptions like "eyes on fire". [8]
The song was originally set out to be released with the Unplugged live album in 1992, but was dropped from the album track listing. However, "Circus" and "My Father's Eyes" – another song left out by Clapton for the 1992 release, were re-recorded and released in 1998 on the studio album Pilgrim. [9] In addition the album release, Clapton had the song released as a single in June 1998 for Reprise Records in Europe and the United States. [10] There were several types of singles released, including a promotional single, a maxi compact disc single as well as a limited edition maxi single, released on compact disc format. All of these single releases features different B-, C- and D-sides to them. [11] However, Clapton played the song along with his mega hit single "Tears in Heaven" for his 1992 World Tour during a small acoustic set. [12] Before the reworked version of "Circus Left Town" was officially released in 1998, many Clapton fans recorded the original version and published the song as bootleg recordings in 1992. [13] "Circus" was resurrected for the 6-night shows at the Nippon Budokan in 2016.
Unlike many other singles released of the 1998 Pilgrim album, "Circus" was not so successful in the music charts. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number 39 on both the physical singles sales and combined singles sales chart, compiled by the Official Charts Company in June 1998 and as of 2021, remains his last top 40 hit in that country. In the Netherlands, "Circus" placed itself on rank 92 on the Single Top 100, compiled by the official Dutch MegaCharts. In Japan, the single effort reached number 99 on the Oricon Top 100 singles chart, selling 2,750 copies while on chart. [14]
The German music journalist Sabine Feickert of Rocktimes calls the song "ambivalent", noting it forced the listener to apply it automatically to subjective thoughts about what has happened to themself. However, Feickert also recalls the great melancholic and languorous melody, which seems to fit the song's motives perfect. [15] AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thinks that Clapton's singing is "startlingly mannered" and does not suit this "emotionally turbulent number". [16] The reviewers of Ultimate Guitar think, that "Circus" is one of the best tracks of the Pilgrim studio release. [17] Journalist David Wild of Rolling Stone magazine calls the title "ultradelicate" and notes that Clapton's singing on the track seems to be "among the most convincing [singing performances] of his career". [18] Something Else critic Nick DeRiso calls the ballad a "moving rumination on lost love and lost moments". [19]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Circus" | Eric Clapton | 4:06 |
2. | "Behind the Mask" | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 4:46 |
3. | "Bad Love" | Eric Clapton · Mick Jones | 5:12 |
4. | "Tearing Us Apart" | Eric Clapton · Greg Phillinganes | 4:14 |
Total length: | 18:18 |
Chart (1998–1999) | Peak position |
---|---|
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [20] | 92 |
Japan (Oricon) [14] | 99 |
UK Physical Singles (OCC) [21] | 39 |
UK Singles (OCC) [22] | 39 |
Date | Region | Format | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Germany | Compact disc | [23] |
Japan | [24] | ||
Netherlands | [20] | ||
South Africa | [25] | ||
United Kingdom | [26] | ||
United States | [10] |
461 Ocean Boulevard is the second solo studio album by English musician Eric Clapton. It was released in late July 1974 by RSO Records, after the record company released the hit single "I Shot the Sheriff" earlier in the month. The album topped various international charts and sold more than two million copies.
Pilgrim is the thirteenth solo studio album by the British rock musician Eric Clapton, released on 10 March 1998 for Reprise Records. The album features all-new studio-recorded material, the first to do so since Clapton's 1989 hit album Journeyman and was nominated for several music awards. Although most of the critics responded negatively to the 1998 studio effort, it was one of Clapton's most commercially successful albums, reaching the Top 10 in twenty-two countries.
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). Its contrasting movements were composed separately by Clapton and Gordon. The piano part has also been controversially credited to Rita Coolidge, Gordon's girlfriend at the time.
Unplugged is a 1992 live album by Eric Clapton, recorded at Bray Studios, England in front of an audience for the MTV Unplugged television series. It includes a version of the successful 1992 single "Tears in Heaven" and an acoustic version of "Layla". The album itself won three Grammy awards at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993 and became the bestselling live album of all time, and Clapton's bestselling album, selling 26 million copies worldwide.
The singles discography of Eric Clapton consists of 24 early career singles that Clapton recorded with various groups and singers including The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Blues Breakers, Cream, John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band as well as Derek and the Dominos. As a solo performer, Clapton released 91 singles and various promotional formats from 1970 to date. His most commercially successful singles are "Lay Down Sally", "Wonderful Tonight", "Change the World", "Tears in Heaven" and Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff", released in 1974, charting substantially better than Marley's own earlier release had, becoming a Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit.
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, reaching the Top 10 in several countries. The song became one of Dylan's most popular and most covered post-1960s compositions, spawning covers from Eric Clapton, Guns N' Roses, Randy Crawford, and more.
"Tears in Heaven" is a song by English guitarist, singer, and songwriter Eric Clapton and Will Jennings, written about the death of Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor. It appeared on the 1991 Rush film soundtrack. In January 1992, Clapton performed the song in front of an audience at Bray Studios, Berkshire, England for MTV Unplugged, with the recording appearing on his Unplugged album.
"Cocaine" is a song written and recorded in 1976 by singer-songwriter J. J. Cale. The song was popularized by Eric Clapton after his version was released on the 1977 album Slowhand. J. J. Cale's version of "Cocaine" was a number-one hit in New Zealand for a single week and became the seventh-best-selling single of 1977.
"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy, and Wayne Kirkpatrick and recorded by country music artist Wynonna Judd. A later version was recorded by English singer Eric Clapton for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. Clapton's version was produced by R&B record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
Simon Climie is an English songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the former lead singer of the UK duo Climie Fisher.
"My Father's Eyes" is a song written and performed by British musician Eric Clapton and produced by Clapton and Simon Climie. It was released as a single in 1998 and was featured on Clapton's thirteenth solo studio album, Pilgrim (1998). The song reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 16, which remains his last top-40 hit in said country as of 2024. It also spent five weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart. It became a top-five hit in Canada, where it peaked at number two, and reached the top 20 in Austria, Iceland, and Norway. In 1999, it won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Bad Love" is a song recorded by English singer and guitarist Eric Clapton, who co-wrote it with Foreigner's lead guitarist Mick Jones. The track was released in the UK in January 1990 as the first single from Clapton's 1989 studio album Journeyman.
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